


Throw Me to The Wolves & I Will Return Leading the Pack

by friendswiththemonster



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:48:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 33
Words: 264,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24594049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/friendswiththemonster/pseuds/friendswiththemonster
Summary: Morgan Loughton, the newest member of SVU hasn’t had much luck with men, but her new partner might just be the one for her, if only she could let Sonny Carisi know.  Men come much easier to her friend Riley Prescott, who’s maybe not prepared for the challenge that Peter Stone provides.
Relationships: Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./Original Female Character(s), Peter Stone (L&O: SVU)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Barbas_Sonnshine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Barbas_Sonnshine/gifts).



“I can’t believe you’ve been partners with this guy for like a month and I am just meeting him tonight.”

Riley, oh good old Riley. Morgan should’ve known better than to keep her best friend from meeting her partner as long as she did but it wasn’t like she had done it on purpose. In all honesty, the cards hadn’t fallen right until this particular night. Morgan hadn’t specifically avoided having her Special Victim’s Unit partner meet her best friend and roommate, they had just been busy and schedules hadn’t lined up.

Riley though, she hadn’t given up.

Hell, even Morgan was a little surprised at the fact that she’d been with SVU for a month and managed to keep her personal life and work life separate. Until tonight that is.

“Trust me Ry, I _want_ you to meet my partner, I really do, but the timing was off.” Morgan stated, trying to get Riley to understand that she wasn’t holding out on her on purpose.

“Right fine, but like, all I’ve heard from you since you started there was how amazing this _Carisi_ guy is.” Riley countered with a roll of her eyes at the man’s name. “I only hope he’s as good-looking as you make him out to be or I’ll be sorely disappointed.”

“What does it matter to you, he’s off limits.” Morgan tried her hardest to hold off on growling at her friend but she knew, as soon as the words were out of her mouth, that she had pretty much failed. “I don’t want you sinking your skanky claws into him.”

“As if I didn’t get that from all the swooning you’ve been doing lately.” Riley grinned. She leaned back in the booth that was tucked along the wall of the bar. “I meant for you Morgan. I don’t want you pining after some guy who’s not pretty.”

Morgan let out a soft sigh and lifted her hands up, resting them against the half empty glass of beer on the table in front of her. Riley sat across from Morgan and kept her eyes on her friend, watching as she drummed her fingernails against the side of the glass.

“Just don’t say anything to him. I don’t need him knowing that I have the biggest crush on him.” Morgan requested and all Riley could do in response was nod.

It was later in the evening, a Friday evening to be exact, and Morgan had managed to crack the current SVU case wide open, leading to a night of celebration, which was precisely why the two girls were at the bar waiting for Morgan’s partner. She was still a rookie to the rest of the Special Victim’s Unit but managing to get the guy responsible for the rape of a minor was a win in all of their books, and a step in the right direction for Morgan.

It wasn’t like she was a bad detective, no, Morgan Loughton was an amazing detective, a fabulous cop, but she had moved to a new division and honestly, SVU was much more intimidating than working narcotics like she had prior to joining SVU. Riley knew this, Riley understood this, she respected Morgan’s love of the policing life and didn’t hold it against her when she came home wanting nothing more than to curl up on the couch and veg out on mindless television shows.

There were just some things Morgan witnessed that didn’t need to be repeated, not even to Riley. There were a lot of other things that Riley heard about even when she didn’t really want to. It didn’t matter though, the two girls just worked well together, they were best friends, they shared an apartment and in all the years they had known each other (going on twenty-five) they had rarely had any serious disagreements.

Yet that’s not what had Morgan rattled. Riley was the constant in her life, but her partner, one Dominick Carisi Junior, had her so wound up sometimes that she didn’t know what to do.

In her eyes, the way things should have been, was that Carisi should’ve been aware of the way their co-worker led him on. He should’ve picked up on the fact that Detective Amanda Rollins let him pretend she reciprocated any sort of feelings when it was obvious to Morgan that she had no intentions of acting like anything more than a friend to him.

“I liked your old partner.” Riley stated, leaning forward against the table, propping her elbows on the edge of it as she kept her eyes trained on Morgan.

“He was such an ass.” Morgan snorted in amusement, waving her hand at Riley to ‘go on’.

“But he had such a _nice_ one. God Mo, he was so attractive.”

“Yeah, and how was he in bed?” Morgan pinned her with her own eyes, Riley shrugging right back. “You know, you and him hooking up is the reason I had to transfer.”

“No it’s not.” Riley shot back.

“Okay, no, it’s not, but it easily could’ve been.” Morgan let out another sigh and peeled her hands away from her beer, which was getting warmer by the minute. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“And _you’re_ lucky I don’t _do_ relationships.” Riley giggled, making quick work of scooting out of the booth. She planted her feet on the ground and stood up, reaching back to grab the nearly empty glass of beer she had been nursing. “I’m going to get us another round and maybe some shots because as far as I’m concerned, we’re supposed to be celebrating.”

“Yeah, with Sonny.”

“Sonny, pfft, I think Dom sounds much nicer. But whatever, he’s your partner, and he’s late.” Riley remarked.

Morgan didn’t get a chance to retort as Riley sauntered off, throwing an extra wiggle to her hips. Morgan’s eyes didn’t leave her best friend as she moved across the floor towards the bar, leaning her elbows on the edge of it and almost immediately catching the bartender’s attention.

Riley knew how to work a room, she knew how to get what she wanted, and Morgan sort of envied that about her. If Riley had been in Morgan’s situation, there was no doubt that Riley would’ve already been in bed with Sonny Carisi. Morgan was a different person; she was the type of girl that didn’t want to think about the consequences of bedding her new partner, she didn’t want to think too much about bedding her partner at all.

There were so many complications with getting romantically involved with someone she worked with and frankly, she didn’t want to deal with them, nor did she want to deal with any awkwardness at work because of it. It didn’t make her crush go away though and Morgan currently wasn’t too sure how to deal with that little problem.

She turned in the booth to look towards the front of the bar, catching the familiar face of her partner, but he wasn’t alone. In all fairness, he also wasn’t with Rollins, or their boss Olivia Benson, or hell, even Fin Tutuola. Any of the others that they worked with would cause Morgan to tense up, but the man Carisi was with was the Assistant District Attorney, and she knew that the night just got a lot more interesting, especially where Riley was involved.

“Mo!” Carisi called out to her, closing the distance between them quickly. He flipped off his jacket as he closed in on her and when he arrived at the booth, he slung it towards Morgan, climbing in to sit next to her.

“You brought a friend.” Morgan teased, giving a wave to ADA Peter Stone, who followed Carisi’s lead but took a seat on the other side of the booth, across from her and Carisi. “Just glad it’s not Fin.”

“Now there’s a guy who knows how to party.” Carisi remarked with a smirk, leaning towards Morgan as he reached into his pocket, producing his wallet. “Since Stone here managed to get the guy to agree to a plea deal, first round’s on him.”

“What are you having?” Stone questioned, nodding to her glass.

Morgan shook her head and glanced towards the bar, hoping to lay her eyes on Riley. She managed to spot her best friend quickly, heading right back to the table with a beer and two shots in each of her hands, gripping them by the tops of the glass with her fingers. “I’m good, but you two need drinks.”

Riley wandered the last few feet to the table and set the six glasses down, cocking her head at the two men who had appeared in the booth since she had been gone. She placed a hand on her hip and looked between the two of them, a devilish smirk appearing on her lips.

“This is Riley Prescott.” Morgan waved in her friend’s direction, both men looking at her, though Stone’s eyes lingered a little bit longer. “Riley this is my partner Sonny and our ADA Peter Stone.”

“Well aren’t you handsome.” Riley cooed, moving her hand away from her hip and extending it towards Stone.

“Sonny never mentioned who we were supposed to be meeting.” Stone replied, taking her hand in his. “So, this is a surprise.”

“Hmm, well I’m sure you’re not disappointed.” Riley purred, releasing his hand and sliding into the booth next to him, watching him give her another once over. “I know _I’m_ not disappointed, well maybe in Morgan here. She never mentioned she was friends with a super attractive attorney.”

Morgan rolled her eyes at Riley’s blatant flirting but her friend was already ignoring her, paying more attention to the man beside her than the girl across from her. Grabbing one of the shots, Morgan made quick work of passing them out to the other three people at the table, Riley finally giving Morgan an acknowledging nod.

“We should toast.” Carisi suggested, peering sideways to catch a glance at Morgan. “To Mo here solving her first case in SVU.”

“To Morgan.” Riley echoed, grabbing her shot and lifting it in to the middle of the table, the rest of them following suit. “To the best detective I know.”

A resounding clink of glasses sounded out at the table and the four of them downed their shots with ease. Before anyone could say anything about not having beers for the boys, Carisi hopped down and walked to the bar, leaving the two girls alone with a clearly distracted Peter Stone. Morgan sucked in a breath and watched as the ADA continued to stare at her friend, wondering how long it would take Riley to make a move.

“I like this one Mo.” Riley remarked, her hand gingerly running down his forearm.

“He used to pitch for the Cubs.” Morgan stated, knowing that would only spur Riley on more.

“I did. Injury took me out.”

Riley pressed her lips together and blew out a long breath, “I’m sorry to hear that. Your hands still work though, right?”

“Yeah.” Stone was quick to answer.

“Well that’s all that matters right?” There was a slightly husky tone to her voice and Morgan bit back a laugh, watching her friend do what she did best. “I think I’d like to come home with you.”

“Jesus Ry!” Morgan gaped. God, Riley had never been _that_ forward.

“I think I might let you.” Stone countered.

Morgan could only shake her head at the two across from her. By the time Carisi showed his face back at the table, Riley was already sitting as close to Stone as she could. Carisi flopped down beside Morgan and looked at the ADA, then back to Morgan.

“On the bright side, at least she didn’t set her sights on you.” Morgan muttered. “God she’s such a slut.”

Carisi chuckled and gave a shake of his head, “it’s alright, you and I, we can celebrate without them anyways. Right?”

Morgan could only nod her head, hoping that she didn’t get too drunk and accidentally tell Sonny Carisi about how she was starting to fall for him.

**_XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX_ **

****

Morgan always waited up for Riley. It was very rare that her friend never came home after sleeping with a man, and tonight she figured it wouldn’t be any different. Riley was a little bit weird in the fact that she didn’t really have serious relationships, not since high school anyways. There was not one particular incident that seemed to change Riley’s views on men, at least not that Morgan was aware of, and Morgan liked to pride herself on the fact that she knew pretty much everything there was to know about Riley Prescott.

They had been friends for as long as Morgan could remember, it was nice that they were still so close. She knew of a bunch of people from high school that had seemed close back then but had fallen apart almost immediately following graduation. It surprised Morgan even more that her and Riley stayed close considering the two of them had gone to different universities.

Yet every holiday they were back at home to see their parents, Riley was always the first to call Morgan and set up a meeting, usually a coffee date, or a simple dinner, where the two of them would catch up. It was as if they had never even been apart.

When Morgan had told Riley she was moving out on her own, Riley had been quick to support her. When Morgan had realized that living alone in New York was kind of frightening, Riley had been quick to jump at the invitation to join Morgan in an apartment. The two just worked well together, they were best friends, and Morgan couldn’t have asked for anyone better.

The only thing that even remotely bothered her was that Riley, more often than not, went home with guys she met at random places. Usually it was a strange man at a bar, other times it was someone she knew, like Morgan’s former partner in narcotics, tonight it was none other than Peter Stone, their assistant district attorney.

At least tonight it wasn’t like Morgan had to fear for her friend’s safety. If Stone hurt her in any way, she’d castrate him without a second thought, but he seemed nice enough, respectful any time she saw him and, Carisi seemed to be one of his closer friends. Overall, Morgan gave Peter Stone a stamp of approval for her friend, it was just too bad that Riley’s track record implied that she wouldn’t be spending more than one night with the ADA.

Slumping back into the comfortable faux leather couch, she let out a soft sigh and peered at the screen of her phone. It was nearing three in the morning and there was still no word from Riley. Morgan didn’t have to work the next day, which made waiting up easier, but even if she did have to work, she’d still wait up.

Heading to the kitchen, Morgan fished the carton of Ben and Jerry’s out of the freezer, nabbing a spoon on her way back to the living room where she had left her phone. She relaxed back into the couch, peeled the lid off the ice cream and shoved her spoon in, leaving it there as she looked at the screen of her phone yet again, only this time, there was a text from Riley.

_‘On my way home, would’ve been sooner but I lost track of my underwear’_

Morgan snorted at her friend’s blatant statement. God Riley sure knew how to keep her on her toes but hey, as long as she was texting, that meant she was okay, and that she was on her way home.

Grabbing the spoon, Morgan worked away at snacking on her ice cream, waiting patiently for her friend to walk through the door to their apartment. The getting home was almost always more nerve-wracking than not knowing who Riley was with, at least this time, she knew the guy well enough.

Morgan had managed to make her way through a quarter of the ice cream carton when the door to the apartment swung open and Riley appeared. Her black strappy high heels were dangling from her one hand and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun, which only served to make Morgan laugh.

“You have that ‘just got fucked real good look’ to you.” Morgan teased, licking her spoon as she gave her friend a once over. “Was he your first attorney?”

Riley scoffed and shook her head, closing the apartment door behind her and locking it. She proceeded to drop her heels to the floor and pull the elastic out of her hair, running her fingers through it in a lame attempt to get some of the knots out.

“Not my first, certainly not my last.” Riley finally replied as she sauntered across the floor, slipping her hands up the back of her shirt and finagling with her bra. Morgan smirked as her friend freed the garment from under her shirt, letting it drop to the floor in the same manner as her shoes. “You work with a man like that and you’ve set your sights on your partner?”

“I saw Sonny first.” Morgan chuckled.

“Lucky for me.” Riley shook her head in amusement and flopped down onto the couch next to her pal. “No offense but I just don’t think Carisi could’ve handled me.”

Morgan laughed out loud and offered Riley the carton of ice cream. Riley grabbed the spoon, shoveled a small spoonful out and put it in her mouth. When she was done, she handed the spoon back to its rightful owner and leaned her head back, staring up at the ceiling.

“I would not have thought Stone was your type.” Morgan pointed out. “Then again, your type is what exactly? Anything with a penis?”

Riley level her with a glare but a smile broke out on her lips, “so long as it functions Mo, and boy did his _function_.”

“Now I won’t be able to look at Peter Stone with a straight face again.” Morgan winced. “You’re lucky I love you or I’d be a little angrier at the fact that you ruin so many of my friendly relationships with men.”

Riley giggled and leaned in against Morgan, tucking herself against her side, “I’d stay away so long as you told me too. I made my intentions with Stone clear though and you just sat across from me and watched me work my magic. I just assumed it was okay-”

“Oh no it _is_ okay. I think the two of you are cute together.” Morgan cut in.

“What?” Riley scrunched up her nose. “Not happening. One and done, that’s it, no more ADA for me.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.” Riley let the words fall out of her mouth in a low whisper. “I don’t _do_ relationships.”

Tilting her head, Morgan tried to pinpoint where her friend might’ve picked up this certain fuck and chuck mentality. Surely there would come a man that would manage to break down Riley’s walls and why in the hell couldn’t it be Peter Stone?

“I’ve noticed. Frankly Ry, I’m a little worried about you when it comes to men. I work for Special Victim’s Unit, I’ve seen some of the things that happen to women and it’s terrifying. The fact that you continue to go out and go home with random guys scares me.”

A silence fell over the two of them as Riley took Morgan’s words to heart. She definitely could see how it would bother Morgan but so far nothing bad had happened to her. Sure, there were a few times when she wasn’t entirely happy about what the guy wanted her to do but she had never been forced to do anything she hadn’t wanted to do. Plus, she never brought guys back to her place for the main purpose of keeping her home safe.

But part of her knew how Morgan was feeling. There was a reason why she always waited up for Riley to get home before going to bed and maybe Riley could at least take her friend’s words to heart.

“Mo…” Riley let her friend’s nickname trail off. God, she didn’t know what she was supposed to say, Morgan definitely had a point. Riley heard all about Morgan’s latest case but the girl had been a minor, someone who didn’t have as much control as she would’ve. “Maybe I’ll stick to attorneys and cops then, would that make you feel better?”

Morgan forced a sad smile onto her face and made a move to get up, pausing as her butt remained at the edge of the couch, “I will always worry about you, I just think you deserve better than a string of one-night stands.”

Without giving Riley a chance to respond, Morgan headed for the kitchen with her ice cream in her hand. She dropped the spoon into the sink with a clang and shoved Ben and Jerry back into the freezer. When she turned around to head back to the living room, Riley was leaning in the doorway with her arms crossed, staring at Morgan.

“One day I might think I deserve better than one-night stands too.” Riley whispered.

Morgan closed the distance between herself and Riley, enveloping her friend in a fierce hug, holding Riley steady, knowing that she needed it.

“You’re my best friend. I just want you to be safe.” Morgan murmured, letting Riley move when she went to pull away, but the two of them still remained close. “And I will always wait up for you.”

“Thanks.” Riley forced a smile onto her face.

“Always.”

An awkward silence fell over the two of them and Riley shifted on her feet, ready to get the hell away from the uncomfortable silence. She cleared her throat and brought Morgan’s attention to her face.

“So, on a lighter note, did you manage to get Carisi to walk you home? Did you finally gain the courage to profess your undying love for the man?” Riley prodded.

“Not exactly, we shared a cab though.” Morgan answered, an almost sad expression on her face.

“Well I guess I can’t really complain about that. Honestly Mo, I’m not going to lie to you here; his accent could make me do anything in bed.”

“Eyes off my Carisi!” Morgan barked and gave Riley a playful shove.

“You didn’t say anything about hands!” Riley laughed and took off running away from Morgan, who broke out into a run after her friend.

Riley’s body collided with the couch as Morgan brought her down in a tackle that would make even the most famous NFL players jealous. The two of them broke out into a fit of laughter, tears springing to their eyes as they struggled to breathe.

Morgan settled down first, relaxing against Riley and slipping her arms around her middle, hugging her tight. Riley lifted her one hand up and began petting Morgan’s head, playing with her blonde locks as the two of them calmed down.

“He’s into Rollins.” Morgan said softly.

“I know.” Riley breathed back.

“What do I do Ry?”

“You make him see you, show him that you’re the better choice.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then I know a decent ADA who’s amazing in bed.” Riley laughed, receiving a hardy slap to her bare knee. Morgan just shook her head and pushed herself off the couch, leaving Riley alone as she finally headed to bed, contemplating her dilemma.

Would she ever gain the courage to admit to Carisi that she liked him, or would she forever be a coward?

At this point in time, Morgan wasn’t real sure which way she was leaning to, but she knew that Riley would have her back no matter what.

**_XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX_ **

“Look alive people, we’ve got a new case!” Olivia Benson called out early Monday morning.

Morgan was seated at her desk across from Carisi, working away at some paperwork that she hadn’t exactly finished on Friday, but as soon as her boss appeared, she straightened up in her chair and stared at the woman, watching her move towards her office, the only one of her squad with a door that she could shut for privacy. Carisi lifted his head up from his own computer and met Morgan’s curious look when she finally peeled her gaze away from Benson.

“Maybe you can crack this one too since you’re pretty much a hot-shot now.” Carisi remarked, a small smile toying on his lips.

She merely rolled her eyes at him and tried not to get too embarrassed by his words. She liked the teasing from him; it meant his attention was on her, she just didn’t want his attention to be on her strictly at work, she wanted his attention on her during her personal time too. It was moments like these that she wished she was a little more like Riley, a tad bit more forward when it came to voicing what she really wanted.

When Benson reappeared from her office, sans her coat and coffee that she had been carrying in, Morgan turned in her chair and faced her lieutenant, Carisi following suit, along with Rollins who was seated not that far from either of them. Fin rose to his feet and sat against the edge of Rollins’ desk, waiting for Benson to give them their newest case.

“We have a rapist who attacked a young woman over on South Street.” Benson carried on, giving her team the low down on what exactly they were looking at. “Carisi, you and Loughton head over and canvas the block, I want you to look for witnesses. If anyone saw or heard anything, I want to know. Rollins, you and Fin head over to the hospital, see if we can’t get some answers from our vic.”

There wasn’t a whole lot of chatter once Benson had finished commanding her officers, in fact, a serious silence fell over them all and Morgan leapt to her feet, nabbing her jacket off the back of her chair and joining Carisi at his desk, where he was pulling his own jacket on. She gave him a nod and the two of them walked side by side to the outside of the precinct.

When Carisi came to stand next to a typical bland grey coloured sedan, Morgan paused, watching as he opened the passenger side door for her, immediately negating it as an act of chivalry. She scoffed, knowing that the real reason he was opening the passenger side door was because he wasn’t going to be letting her drive any time soon.

Fine, whatever, she could deal with that, in fact, riding along gave her more time and freedom to look at Carisi and take in the details of him. She wasn’t all that fond of driving anyways, in fact, her old partner in narcotics had been the one to drive most of the time, even when she was growing up, Riley was the one who had a car at sixteen, albeit not a very fancy car, which left Morgan to ride shotgun.

The more time that passed, the less she really cared about driving, though when she did, she enjoyed it, except for when she had to head out late at night and pick Riley up because she couldn’t manage to get her own way home. Those times were few and far between, but nonetheless, it wasn’t Morgan’s favourite thing to do.

Climbing in, Carisi shut the door for her and while Morgan was buckling up, he walked around the front of the car and made short work of getting into the driver’s side, putting the keys into the ignition before doing up his own seatbelt.

“Is your friend always so…” Carisi let his question hang in the balance, clearly looking for the politest way to describe Riley Prescott.

“Slutty, you can just say it. I do, though I say it with love.” Morgan teased, knowing full well that Riley wasn’t the typical woman who was looking for love. “Yeah, she’s been like that for a long time.”

“How long is a long time?”

“Well uh…pretty much since we were teenagers. I don’t know why she does it, I just accept it.” Morgan answered, wondering to herself why her friend was the way she was. She had never really pushed the issue, aside from reminding Riley that she worried about her, but lately things were bothering her more.

What was the reason that Riley was out playing the field and not looking for a serious relationship? Why had she shot down the idea of her and Stone together so quickly? In Morgan’s eyes, Peter Stone was a decent match for her friend, at the very least, she knew him better than most of the other guys Riley slept around with. She trusted Stone, and she also trusted the fact that if he ever had the chance to hurt Riley, Morgan knew exactly where to find him, and how to dispose of a body.

Ever since joining the SVU though, Morgan had seen some pretty brutal crimes involving women; vulnerable and strong females. It didn’t matter to some people, they were just preying on whoever they could and in Morgan’s mind, Riley seemed like a good target for creeps and rapists.

She silently prayed it never got to that point.

“Don’t you worry about her?” Carisi pressed.

“Yeah.” Morgan nodded her head, turning to face out the window as Carisi started the car and began to pull out of the lot. He didn’t speak again until they were on the road and frankly, this conversation wasn’t entirely what Morgan wanted. On one hand, it was nice that Carisi seemed to be worrying about Riley a little bit, but on the other hand, Morgan didn’t want to think too hard about the things Riley did. The less she thought about it, the easier it was to not worry so much.

“In our line of work-”

“Trust me, I know.” Morgan cut him off. She knew where her partner was going with his train of though and god damn if her own thoughts hadn’t gone down that same path. It was easy to see that it could easily be Riley’s rape she was investigating one day, but no matter how much Morgan worried, Riley was going to do what she wanted to do. “I wait up for her though.”

Carisi stole a quick look over to Morgan and cocked his head, wanting more elaboration. He turned his attention back to the road and focused on where they were going instead of peering at the woman in the car with him.

Sucking in an anxious breath, Morgan fought off the urge to shiver at the thought of something horrible happening to her best friend.

“I wait up for her. I stay awake until she comes home.”

“Doesn’t she spend nights with other guys though?”

“Sort of, not really.” Morgan paused and gathered her thoughts, hoping that she could talk about her friend with a sort of respectful tone. She wanted Carisi to understand without judging, but she knew it was hard for people on the outside to understand Riley’s motives. “She usually stays long enough to have sex and then she leaves. The last time she spent the whole night with some guy was a good long time ago.”

“You’re telling me that instead of spending the night inside where it’s _maybe_ dangerous, she ventures out late at night on her own in an attempt to get back home?” Carisi quipped. Morgan let out a soft groan and shook her head, desperately trying to force the bad thoughts out of her brain.

“Yes. It sounds bad when you say it that way.” Morgan argued. “She just…I wait up for her.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that already.”

“So if she doesn’t come home, at least I’ll be able to look for her.” Morgan supplied. It was a small victory, but having one cop looking for Riley was better than having no one looking for her. “I’ve told her it bugs me but she doesn’t listen.”

“Well maybe this time she’ll stick with Stone.”

Morgan rolled her eyes and slumped back in the seat of the car, “highly unlikely.”

“Why?”

“She doesn’t fuck a man more than once, the last time she did was high school, maybe college, I don’t really know, we weren’t at the same college together, but ever since we’ve lived together, I have never seen her with the same man twice.”

“Maybe you can get her to change her mind this time?” Carisi chuckled. Morgan bit down on her bottom lip and considered what Carisi was saying. She didn’t disagree with the idea of Riley and Peter Stone dating, but she knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. Riley was stubborn and she hardly ever listened to what Morgan had to say, but that didn’t mean Morgan couldn’t come up with a way to get the two of them back together, right?

She was a smart girl, she could surely figure something out? Maybe a few ‘chance’ encounters that just so happened to be set up by Morgan herself. Yeah, yeah that might work, now, all Morgan had to do was make it happen, and seeing as it had only taken a whole month for Riley to finally meet her partner, she knew it wasn’t going to be a quick or easy process.

“She slept with my old partner.” Morgan blurted out.

“Well she won’t be sleeping with your new one.”

“What?” Morgan was sort of offended on Riley’s behalf. She was a gorgeous girl, and had a great personality to match, so what was so wrong with her that Carisi wasn’t interested, not that Morgan really minded, it just meant less competition. “What’s wrong with Riley?”

“She’s not really my type.” Carisi offered up with a shrug.

“Oh right, she’s not Rollins.” Morgan sniped back at him.

“Whoa hey! Where’d that come from?”

“Riley’s a great girl, you’d be lucky to have her.” Morgan couldn’t actually believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. She was just too upset, too mad at herself, mostly because she had let her comment about Rollins slip. Maybe she was just sad that he didn’t seem interested in her, but either way, she didn’t like where the conversation had gone. “Anyone would.”

“We’re almost there, you should probably figure out what we’re looking for.”

Pressing her lips together, she tried not to let him get to her. Carisi wasn’t usually an asshole and maybe she sort of deserved for him to brush her off this time, but still, she didn’t like it. She wanted his attention but she wanted it in a good way. At least Riley knew how to do that, right?

“Maybe you should figure out what you’re looking for too.” Morgan mumbled under her breath, her heart hurting at the thought that it was very possible Sonny Carisi would never be interested in her.

**_XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX_ **

“So apparently our victim was bitten.” Rollins stated somberly, looking around the room at each and every member of SVU. Morgan was on the edge of her seat, literally, as she scanned over the pictures posted on the board against the wall, waiting for Rollins to tell them that they had some semblance of a lead, the look on Rollins’ face suggested that maybe Morgan shouldn’t be expecting anything that easily.

Her eyes stared at the board against the wall of the room, her body shuddering at the photo of the bite mark, located just under the right breast of the girl that was raped, the girl that Morgan now knew was named Katie McLean. She wasn’t much younger than her or Riley and seemed like just a normal girl who had managed to wind up in the wrong place at the wrong time, which only served to make Morgan nervous; nervous for herself, nervous for Riley and most importantly, nervous for all women in the state of New York.

She hated the idea of some creep out on the streets raping and biting women, as if to stake his claim on them physically as well as mentally. Sure, the bite mark would technically heal and most likely not leave much of a scar, if one at all, but the women, the women would have mental scars for years to come, if not the rest of their lives, and for what? So that some scumbag could get a few minutes of glory for himself? So that he could continue being a coward and going after women who didn’t deserve whatever it was that he thought they did?

“Bitten?” Carisi echoed Rollins’ words and caught Morgan’s attention, drawing her eyes away from the photo of the very bite mark they were talking about. “This scumbag actually bit our vic?”

“So shows the photograph.” Morgan mumbled and slumped back against the back of her chair. She raised her hand in the air like a child in a classroom and when Benson shot her a look of confusion, Morgan slowly lowered it but spoke up instead. “If she was bitten though, that means DNA right? Or even dental records, no?”

Rollins pointed at Morgan, merely acknowledging her theory, and quickly produced a piece of paper from the small stack on the table nearby. She strode across the room and handed it to Morgan, who looked it over as fast as she possibly could. She let out a sigh when she reached the part where there was no match to the DNA in their database, nor was the bite mark clear enough to get any sort of dental impression from to compare to records, even if the skin had been broken and the wounds fairly deep.

“So much for that then.” Morgan growled and passed the paper over to Carisi, who took it without a second of hesitation. “We got some security camera footage but it’s all pretty grainy.”

“We have to comb through most of it still but Loughton’s right, I don’t think it’ll do much good.” Carisi threw in. Morgan was glad that he seemed to have her back, not that he ever didn’t, but she wouldn’t have been surprised if he made her sweat a little, especially after her comment in the car. God why couldn’t she have just kept her mouth shut about Rollins, why did she have to poke at him and make things awkward? They were supposed to be a team and Morgan certainly wasn’t helping their dynamic by making snide comments simply because she was upset.

Still, even after they had gotten out of the car and were canvassing, she felt like the two of them were off, like they weren’t meshing like they usually did. Faith in her partner was something she relied on but she had gone and ruined that, at least temporarily, until she could make amends. They hadn’t gotten much time alone once they got back to the precinct though, Benson had called them in to hear what Rollins and Fin had found out from their victim; and so far, it was _not_ pretty.

The poor girl had sounded terrified, not that Morgan could blame her: she had been raped in the back alley of some halfway sleazy bar by some guy who was maybe or maybe not wearing a mask with enough of a hole around his mouth for him to bite her- it wasn’t like the victim had seen very much if her rapist.

Some days Morgan wished she could just wrap her hands around these rapists’ throats and squeeze until they stopped breathing. Other days she wished she could simply put a bullet in them, right between their soulless eyes.

“There weren’t very many witnesses either, just the girl that found her after the fact.” Morgan threw in. She wanted to find this guy and punch him right in the teeth so that the next person he bit wouldn’t have teeth marks left in their flesh. “She seemed pretty rattled herself, I mean, girl goes out for a smoke, finds a barely conscious girl half naked in the alley, blood everywhere.”

Carisi leaned forward on his chair and extended the paper back to Rollins, who took it in her hands and set it back on the table, no one really sure what more to say. This particular case seemed to be a rough one for all of them, but Morgan sucked in a nervous breath and tried to think happy thoughts. The longer this whole case went on, the more she worried about Riley.

What would’ve happened had the rapist come across Riley wandering home alone at night after one of her sex sessions?

Yeah sure, Riley was a pretty strong female, but rapists hunted women, they struck when the women were least expecting it and even the strongest woman in the world wouldn’t be able to fend him off.

“I wish I could say it gets easier to work on this team,” Benson started, her voice soft and comforting, “but I don’t want to lie to you. I just know that when we do catch these guys, it feels really good to get them off the street.”

Nodding her head, Morgan took in a breath and studied the victim’s picture on the board. She was blonde, blue eyed and fairly young. She was also a frequent flyer to her local gym and even boxed a little bit in her spare time. On paper this girl seemed strong and capable of defending herself, yet she had managed to get raped without managing to get any trace under her fingernails.

This whole case was starting to get to her, and it had barely just begun.

“Alright, Loughton, Carisi, get to work on that camera footage, see if you can’t find anything even remotely interesting. Amanda, Fin, go look into the people she knew; any friends, family, see if they can’t give you any idea on anyone that would want to hurt her.” Benson commanded.

No one argued, no one even uttered a complaint, the four of them merely took off out of the room and got to doing what it was Olivia Benson wanted them to do. Morgan wandered over to her desk and flopped down into the chair, looking at the screen of her computer. She pulled up the software to view the security camera footage and sucked in another anxious breath.

She didn’t know exactly what she was supposed to be looking for but she knew that Carisi would help her through it, depending on whether he wasn’t still mad at her. Lifting her head up and peering around the monitor, she spotted the very man in question leaning back in his chair, his hands behind his head and his eyes staring right back at Morgan.

“Look, I uh…” Morgan started but let her words trail off. She hated apologizing to people, especially when she wasn’t necessarily in the wrong. She wasn’t sorry for what she had said about him and Rollins, she was sorry for the _way_ she had said it and she was even more sorry that she had let it slip in the first place. “I shouldn’t have said what I said back in the car. Whatever you have going on with Rollins is none of my business.”

Carisi titled his head sideways and took a second to study her, “that was hard for you, wasn’t it?”

She let out a snort of laughter and nodded her head.

He moved his arms downwards, resting his hands on his desk, “there’s nothing going on with me and Rollins.”

“Really?” Morgan quipped. Surely he had to know that Rollins was leading him on and he was falling for it. In fact, it almost seemed to Morgan like he liked being strung along, except Morgan knew better. If Rollins had wanted him, she would’ve had him by now. “I thought…you know what…never mind. Still none of my business and I’m sorry I said what I said.”

“Well I appreciate that.”

“You should because it doesn’t happen often, you can even ask Riley.” Morgan replied, her tone taking on more of a joking manner. God this was so much nicer than the awkwardness between them, even if Morgan didn’t understand what was going on between him and Rollins. Like she had said, it was none of her business.

“Yeah, and maybe I should apologize for judging your friend.” Carisi added. “Riley’s a big girl and so are you. I’m sure the two of you can handle yourselves.”

“Me, definitely. Riley, I’m not so sure.” Morgan teased, even letting out a soft chuckle. “I just hope she doesn’t end up like Katie McLean one day, you know?”

“Maybe you should talk to her about it.”

“Oh yes, I’ll simply talk to her, I wonder why I didn’t think of that already.” Morgan said sarcastically, shaking her head at him in amusement. “You know what Sonny, let’s get to work on this footage, you can talk to me when you’ve got something.”

“Same goes for you Loughton.”

With another shake of her head, she focused her attention on the computer screen in front of her, desperately trying not to picture Riley as her next victim during her stint in SVU.

“Maybe when we’re done with all this footage, I can buy you a drink.” Carisi piped up, drawing Morgan’s attention away from the monitor once again. “I think we both need it after a day like today.”

“And what sort of day is that Sonny?” Morgan countered, narrowing her eyes in on him.

“A rough one, a bad one, the kind of day where if I had a wife, I’d want to go home and hug her tight.”

“And since you don’t have a wife, you go to the next best thing? A glass of the top shelf whiskey shared with your partner?”

“Pretty much.” Carisi nodded but straightened up in his chair. “But don’t get used to it Mo.”

Morgan rolled her eyes and turned her head towards Olivia’s office, hoping and praying that they’d get a lead soon, she hated the idea of this biting rapist out on the streets.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

**_XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX_ **

Staring into the bottom of her second glass of whiskey, Morgan let out a low growl and slumped into the back of the booth she was sitting in across from Carisi. Her eyes fell shut and she shook her head, wondering where the SVU was going to start tomorrow. There were no leads and nothing that looked even remotely promising, but Morgan knew Benson wasn’t going to just drop this case.

“We’ll get something.” Carisi managed to get out. “Something’s got to give.”

“Yeah well what if we don’t? Then what? Some rapist gets to keep wandering the street preying on innocent women?” Morgan countered, her body going rigid at the thought. “I don’t like that.”

“You’re not giving up already, are you?” Carisi’s voice bordered on teasing but Morgan wasn’t in the mood. “Seriously, it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours Mo, we’re going to catch a break.”

She let out a sigh of frustration, “maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m used to working narcotics where we play the long game and still don’t always win. I just hate that there’s so many bad people out there that we can’t catch.”

“There’s more good people out there.” Carisi stated, reaching across the table to set his hand on top of her in a gesture of comfort. She let his hand rest on top of hers but didn’t make a move to do anything more. Whatever he was trying to do, she welcomed it. Comfort was what she needed and if he was going to offer it, then she wasn’t going to turn him down. “We’ll come back to this case in the morning and keep working it, that’s all there is.”

Morgan gave a slight bow of her head and pulled her hand out from under his. She lifted her glass up and swallowed the last remaining bit of her whiskey before making her way to her feet, motioning towards Carisi’s already empty glass.

“What do you say we switch to beer from here on out?” Morgan offered and headed towards the bar, readying herself to get two beers, one for her and one for her partner.

Sidling up to the bar, she leaned her elbow on the edge of the counter and waited patiently for the bartender to finish what he was doing. She stole a quick look around the bar and when the man fetching drinks set his sights on her, she merely lifted her hand up and signaled she needed two more drinks. He set his focus onto the task at hand and Morgan continued waiting for her drinks to be ready.

When a hand fell softly onto her shoulder, she turned and expected Carisi to be standing there beside her but she came face to face with an unfamiliar man, a man who didn’t remove his hand from her body even after she glared at him.

He forced a smug smirk onto his lips and Morgan’s immediate thought was ‘this guy looks more like Riley’s type’ but when his hand migrated down lower, she tensed, jumping away when he manhandled the cheek of her ass.

“Get your hands off me.” Morgan growled, rivaling the ferocity of a rabid dog. “Perv.”

“Oh come on, gal like you-”

“I said _get_ your hands off me.” Morgan repeated herself, grinding out the words. The man moved his hand away from her ass but set it on her forearm instead. She growled at him again but his fingers tightened on her skin. Jesus fucking Christ, who _was_ this guy? Who did he think he was? “You want to keep your fingers; I suggest you get them away from me.”

“What’s your name?” He cooed.

“None of your damn business.” Okay, nope, this guy was not Riley’s type. Sure, she liked them forward, but this guy was way too much and even Morgan recognized that he was bad news without saying more than two sentences to her. He was touching her without consent and he wasn’t taking her seriously when she told him to get off her. What more was she going to have to do? “Buddy-”

“You just look like you need a little fun, maybe blow off some steam.”

His fingernails were barely biting into her skin and Morgan immediately yanked her arm away from him, but her hard work was quickly undone as his arm came across her shoulders, pulling her tight against him.

“Is there a problem here?” Carisi’s rough voice cut in and Morgan blew out a breath, ducking under the stranger’s arm and closing the distance between her and Carisi, who’s arm came across her shoulders like the stranger’s had just been. Nope, she certainly wasn’t expecting that. “This guy giving you trouble doll?”

Doll? What the hell was he doing? What was he- oh! Oh Morgan wasn’t stupid, sure it took her a second to realize what was going on, but she knew a fake-out when she saw one.

“Yeah baby, wouldn’t keep his pervy hands off me.” Morgan purred in response and curled an arm around Carisi’s waist, resting her head against his shoulder. “I told him no but he just didn’t listen.”

“Hey buddy.” Carisi leveled the man with a death glare and the man straightened up, looking between the two of them. “Beat it.”

Shaking his head and deciding Morgan wasn’t worth the trouble, the stranger pushed his way back out into the bar, disappearing into the small crowd. She watched him go and when she couldn’t see him anymore, she reluctantly peeled herself away from Carisi, instantly missing the contact of his body against hers.

“Thanks.” Morgan stated. “That guy was two seconds away from my foot up his ass.”

“Yeah and he would’ve deserved it.” Carisi added, giving her a once over to make sure she was okay. “But then things could’ve gotten messy.”

Morgan nodded along in agreement, “still would’ve felt good though.”

“Maybe one day.”

“You know I could’ve handled him though; I didn’t need you coming to my rescue.” Morgan’s lips curled into a smile.

“I know, just seemed quicker this way.” He smiled back at her and when the bartender finally set their beers on the surface of the bar, Carisi nabbed them in his hands and headed back to their booth. Morgan hesitated for a split second longer before following his lead, taking her seat across from him and wrapping her hand around the beer.

Carisi lifted it up, motioning for her to do the same, “to hoping we catch this rapist son of a bitch soon.”

“And to not starting a fight in the bar.” Morgan chuckled. “Which I would’ve totally won by the way.”

“I don’t doubt it _doll_.”

“Drop it.” Morgan barked, but had a tough time hiding the smile threatening to appear on her face.

“What, you don’t like me talking all sweet to you?”

God, more than he knew. She could practically feel her knees weakening every time he called her doll but she wasn’t about to let him know that, especially not since they just got back to being in sync with each other.

“If you keep calling me doll, I’m going to start calling you Dom, I know how much you hate that.” Morgan retorted, watching as his face tightened. He held his lips together tightly for all of five seconds before shaking his head with a laugh.

“Could be worse.”

“Sonny Bunny it is.”

“I think you’ve had enough to drink.” Carisi leveled her with a look, a dangerous look, a look that made her want to take him home with her and do dirty things to him until the morning. She shook her head at him and took a swig of her beer, finishing most of it in one go. “I’ll even walk you home like the gentleman that I am.”

“Aw my Sonny Bunny’s going to walk me home!” She cooed, leaning sideways and scooting out of the booth. “Are you going to hold my hand too?”

“Only if you want me too.” He laughed, finally, and followed her lead.

Good god she was starting to wish this wasn’t all a joke to him, she wanted him to be walking her home, and then proceeding to stay with her when they got there. She wanted to have him come inside and kiss him on the couch, then take him to bed.

“I think I’m good.” Morgan stated, trying to push the idea of him holding her hand out of her head. This whole situation was making her crazy, making her want nothing more than to tell him he deserves someone who doesn’t keep him at arm’s length like Rollins. “But you can definitely walk me home. There’s a rapist out there who bites people.”

“I would’ve done it either way.”

**_XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX_ **

“Girl, you look like you’ve had a rough day.” Riley remarked from her position on the couch. Morgan figured she didn’t look all that excited but she had left the bar feeling a little bit better about her case, at the very least, her and Sonny seemed to be back to normal. “Ice cream?”

“No, I need something with a bit more substance.”

“Well I ordered a pizza for dinner, there’s like half left you’re welcome to.” Riley offered, Morgan’s eyes lighting up at the prospect of pizza. Hell yes, Riley was the best roommate. “Also I have a great ear if you want to talk, like literally about anything. You can tell me about your latest heinous case.”

“Oh I do want to talk but not about my case.” Morgan fixed her friend with a pointed look. “Give me a few minutes to change and grab some pizza, then I’m coming to talk to you about something less disturbing.”

Riley nodded her understanding, watching as Morgan wandered into her bedroom before settling into the couch further, letting out a soft sigh of relief knowing that her friend was still doing okay. She knew about the kinds of cases Morgan dealt with on a daily basis and she figured it would be harder on her than her previous cases in narcotics, she just hoped that Morgan wouldn’t let the horrendous cases get to her too badly.

Up until Morgan had ended up with SVU, Riley had felt freer in a sense too. Lately, Morgan constantly reminded her to be careful and she continued to let her know that she felt the world was dangerous, even though Riley had been doing her thing for years now and had it down to an art. She had never once felt herself in any serious danger, but having Morgan talking about rapists and pedophiles made her shudder, it even made her think that maybe she should cut back on her ‘one-night stand’ thing, at least for a little while.

Was she taking her chances having sex with a man then leaving his place super early in the morning?

It wasn’t like she always walked home on her own, it merely depended on where the guy’s place was in relation to hers. If it _was_ close enough, she’d walk home, making sure to have her keys in between her fingers in a fist as a makeshift weapon. If they were too far to walk, she’d get herself cab.

Her number one rule was not to bring men home, she didn’t want them to know where she lived in case they turned out to be crazy. The less people who knew her address, the better off she felt.

When Morgan emerged from her bedroom, she was in her comfy clothes consisting of a pair of loose-fitting sweatpants and a t-shirt that was larger than she normally wore. She barely broke stride as she headed into the kitchen, helping herself to Riley’s pizza before joining her back in the living room, taking a seat right next to her.

“Am I in trouble?” Riley teased, her eyes never leaving Morgan’s as she stuffed a huge bite of pizza into her mouth. Morgan gave Riley a quick nod of her head, which only confused Riley. “What the hell did I do?”

Morgan chewed for a few seconds, giving Riley the opportunity to sit up straighter and move her butt to the edge of the couch, her body turned towards Morgan as she waited. When Morgan finally swallowed her first bite of pizza, she set the slice down on top of her second one on the plate and then set the plate down on the coffee table in front of the couch.

“I want you to stop sleeping around with random guys.” Morgan stated firmly and bluntly.

“They’re not _all_ random.” Riley countered but there was very little conviction behind her tone. “You introduced me to the last one.”

“You’re not wrong about the last one but whatever you say Ry, most of them are random. It doesn’t matter, I still think maybe it’s time that you try to actually find a guy you want to be in a relationship with.” Morgan pressed.

“I don’t _do_ relationships.”

“I knew you were going to say that, which is why I’ve come up with a challenge.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, I have five stipulations that you have to follow.”

“Right, okay and what exactly is in this for me?” Riley crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her friend, wondering why she would ever agree to something so childish, even if she _was_ mildly intrigued.

“If you complete my five stipulations, then I will tell Sonny how I feel about him.”

Riley’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head at her friend’s admission. Oh man! This was getting good and now Riley’s interest was clearly peaked. If she did whatever it was Morgan wanted her to do, then Morgan would tell Carisi that she loved him! Good god how much better could things get?

“You have five stipulations-”

“Yes and the first one is to sleep with a man for a second time.” Morgan cut her off, then picked up her slice and took another bite. She chewed slowly, giving Riley time to consider her friend’s offer.

Sleep with a man for a second time, that seemed easy enough, right? Riley could certainly do that, hell, it’s not like anything would be much different from the first time. Sure, she could do that for Morgan, especially if it meant she was one step closer to telling her partner how she felt about him.

“Okay, I will sleep with a man for a second time.”

“Might I suggest Peter Stone?” Morgan retorted once her mouth was empty.

“You can.” Riley nodded. “He was really good in bed…”

“Things I don’t need to hear.” Morgan shook her head with a chuckle. “I see him on a regular basis and now all I’m going to be able to think about is how good you say he is in bed.”

“And he’s not so bad on the eyes.” Riley shrugged. “I guess I’d need your help to set me up to see him again because I didn’t give him my number, which is how I usually roll considering I don’t usually sleep with a man more than once and thus have no need for a phone number.”

Morgan fought off the urge to give Riley a light smack. God she could be so frustrating sometimes but if all she had to do was set up a situation where Riley ran in to the ADA, then so be it. This was an easy step in the right direction, especially if it meant that Riley decreased her chances of ending up like Katie McLean.

“When _was_ the last time you had a serious relationship?” Morgan quipped, not entirely sure if she was prepared for the answer.

“Uh, maybe like the second year of college.” Riley answered hesitantly. “Guys at M.I.T. were so not my type.”

“I don’t understand why you haven’t had a serious relationship since then.”

“I just haven’t really found anyone I like yet.”

“Because you don’t give them a fair chance Ry. So see, stipulation number one makes you at least start to give someone a chance, and I’m really glad you agreed to it being Stone. If there’s anyone out there I want to see you with, it’s him.”

Riley nodded her head with a smile, “I have to sleep with a man for a second time and you’re one step closer to admitting you have a giant crush on your partner. This is easy as pie, I like sex, sex with Peter was great, but I don’t get why you make it seem like it should be hard for me?”

“I don’t know.” Morgan mumbled. “Maybe the next few steps after that _will_ be harder for you.”

“And what are they?” Riley pressed.

“If I told you now, it’d take the fun out of it.” Morgan cackled and settled into the couch with her plate of pizza resting on her knees. She looked at her food, then back to Riley. “I feel like I’m your longest relationship sometimes.

“Yeah and if you were gay, I’d have jumped on that long ago.” Riley laughed, flopping sideways into Morgan, leaning her head against her hip and relaxing into their couch. “But you lack a penis and I like penis.”

“Me too Ry, me too.”

“Your tone suggests we need to get you laid.” Riley pointed out, poking Morgan in the thigh. She immediately stopped chewing her pizza and set the crust down on the plate, giving Riley a glare. “Don’t worry, when I finish this challenge, I’ll help you get Carisi.”

“Oh gee thanks.”

“Well I certainly won’t let you handle it without some guidance.”

Morgan opened her mouth to retort, to argue against Riley’s words, but there was a bit of relief knowing that she wouldn’t be alone in all this. Even if Riley did manage to get through all five stipulations, Morgan wasn’t looking forward to just blurting out to Carisi that she had a crush on him. She’d have to be smooth about it, fake some confidence so that if he did reject her, she could overcome that too.

“I’ll set up a time and place where you can run in to Peter Stone but I want you to put on a clinic for me. Show me how to be more like you, let me see you work your magic so that _if_ the time ever comes for me to tell Sonny how I feel, I won’t be walking in blind.”

“When not if, and okay, done deal.” Riley grinned. “Maybe I’ll even let you practice on _me_.”


	2. Chapter 2

Morgan beat Carisi to the precinct the following morning, in fact, she had made it there before most of her squad, the exception being none other than Fin. Thank god, she would not have done well if it had been just her and Rollins, in fact, the more Morgan witnessed Rollins lead Carisi on, the angrier she got. Frankly, it was getting harder and harder to watch.

The poor idiot deserved better but he was clearly too blinded by his own feelings to see what Rollins was doing. She was using him, leading him on for her own benefit, and the man played right into her hands, doing whatever he could to help the woman out. The fact that she had two kids with two different dads (neither of which was Carisi) didn't even seem to faze her partner, nope, he continued to lap up any attention she gave him like it was warm milk and he was a newborn kitten.

It definitely didn't help Morgan's sour mood that morning that there was still nothing to go on for their case, which sucked, it sucked really bad. She let out a low groan and spun around once in her desk chair, trying desperately to lay her eyes on _anything_ that might help her crack this case open like she had done with her last one.

When Carisi appeared in her line of sight, she narrowed her eyes in on him and watched carefully as he approached her desk, setting a large coffee cup on the corner of it. He didn't say a word and Morgan continued to watch him as he moved around to his own desk and flopped into his chair, sipping on his own coffee.

"What's this?" Morgan pointed awkwardly at the coffee cup; her head cocked sideways as she asked.

"Coffee." He answered, as if it was simplest question in the world. Technically it was just coffee but what did it mean? He had never actually brought her coffee before, so why was he starting now? "Thought after last night's whiskeys you might need a pick me up."

"Oh." Morgan relaxed a little bit in her chair, knowing that he was probably right. Her head was hurting just a little bit but she had trouble determining if it was from the whiskeys or the frustration of the case. "Well thanks Sonny Bunny."

"Anything for you _doll_." Sonny countered and moved on to logging in to his computer. Morgan lifted the coffee to her lips and took a small sip, testing the contents inside. It was a simple coffee but it seemed like it was done up just the way she liked it, one milk and one sugar. Did that mean that Sonny paid attention to her when she ordered it or did he just get lucky?

Morgan turned her attention to her own computer, which only lasted a few seconds before Olivia Benson came striding into the precinct with Rollins in tow, neither women looked too happy.

"We've got a second victim." Benson announced and Morgan furrowed her eyebrows. "This one's got a bite mark in the same place as Katie McLean."

"Jesus." Morgan muttered and pounded her fist against the desk. "Is this bite mark any clearer than the last?"

"Nope. Loughton, I want you back out with Carisi, I'll give you the address where she was found. Rollins and Fin are going to talk to our second victim, see if maybe she saw anything that can help us catch this guy." Benson commanded.

Morgan hopped to her feet and grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair. She nabbed her coffee and met up with Sonny near the exit, the two of them heading down to get into a car. Morgan didn't say anything as she climbed into the passenger seat, again which he opened the door too, and even when he was in the driver's seat with the car moving, she remained silent, feeling her phone vibrating in her pocket.

She set her coffee into the cup holder and freed her cell phone, peering at the photograph of the victim that Olivia had texted her on the way to the car. This victim looked around the same age as Morgan with the same blonde hair as the first victim. Nudging Carisi's elbow, he tore his eyes off the road for a second, just long enough to get a glance of the photo Morgan was looking at.

"Wow." Carisi let out a low whistle and Morgan closed the photo, moving on to the address that Olivia had sent to them. She programed it into the GPS and let the robotic voice take over before turning her attention to the man in the car with her.

"Wow what?" Morgan finally spoke, breaking the silence between the two of them.

"This one looks even more like you than the first vic."

What? Where had that come from? Morgan sucked in a breath and pulled the photo back up on her phone screen, then she studied the face staring back at her. It was obviously a posed photo, almost professionally done, but maybe Sonny had a point. This girl did have a lot of the same features; same hair colour, same eye colour, even the way the girl was smiling reminded Morgan of her own.

Was this rapist targeting women who looked alike? Well so far Morgan could conclude that he potentially had a type and she was looking like she was starting to fit the bill.

"Next time we go out for a drink, you're _definitely_ walking me home now." Morgan stated, praying that there would be no more victims and that they'd catch the guy.

"Next time?" Carisi piped up.

Morgan's eyes widened as soon as she realized what she had said. Shit, had she been too forward? Had she made it obvious that she was thinking about hanging out with him as more than a friend?

"Yeah, next time." Morgan stated calmly, hoping that he couldn't hear the pounding of her heart in her chest. She didn't want him to know what she was thinking, she didn't need him looking at her differently. In fact, she was starting to hope that Riley wouldn't make it through her five stipulations because telling the man next to her that she liked him was terrifying. "We're obviously going to make more arrests in the future, which means we're obviously going to be celebrating more together. With a rapist out there raping girls that, according to you 'look like me', I want to make sure that I have a big strong man next to me on my walk home."

"And what about your friend?"

Riley. How could Morgan forget about Riley? Well on one hand, it seemed like the rapist preferred blondes and Riley had dark brown hair. Part of Morgan wanted the rapist to stick to blondes but then another part of her wanted to catch the scumbag before he could get to _any_ other girls, blonde _or_ brunette.

"Fun fact: I'm working on getting her into a relationship." Morgan answered, glad for the topic change to something a little less serious. Plus, this way she could more easily avoid accidentally letting something slip to Carisi about her feelings for him.

"What? How you going to do that?"

"I made her a deal. She has to complete my five-step program and if she does, I do something for her."

"Like what?"

"What are my five steps or what do I have to do for her?"

"Five steps Loughton, I don't think I want to know about what you might have to do for her, especially when I know she's a little more out there when it comes to men than you."

"Right." Morgan bowed her head. Of course he would immediately think that Riley would want her to do something slutty, but boy would he be surprised if Riley did manage to make it. "Well the first thing is that she has to sleep with a man for a second time."

"Of course." Carisi gave a nod of his head. "What's after that?"

"I'm going to make her ask the same guy she slept with twice out on a date." Morgan continued and lifted her hand up, using two fingers to count how many things she was on. She lifted a third one and carried on. "Then she's going to go on a date but without be able to take her clothes off _at all_. I figure if I take away her ability to have sex with the guy, then she won't be able to breeze her way through it."

"I'm almost afraid to ask what the fourth thing is."

"She has to bring him home. Honest to god, I call her a slut, but I've never seen a man in our apartment that's she had sex with." Morgan stated nonchalantly. Boy howdy was Morgan starting to think maybe her friend had serious commitment issues, yet for some reason Riley had never confided to Morgan why. "It's incredible really. She's got all these rules against bringing a guy home. 'If he doesn't know where I live then he can't follow me home', that's what she says. Frankly, it makes it a little easier to let her carry on being promiscuous."

Carisi let out a chuckle and Morgan shook her head. God, was she really being this hard on Riley, was she really going to make her friend go through all this knowing that it wasn't really her style?

If she was going to be doing it with Peter Stone, then Morgan maybe wouldn't feel so bad. They seemed like a good pair and in her head, they looked cute together, maybe one day they'd even make a cute couple. Riley could call him her boyfriend, something that she hasn't had since college, and Peter could call her his girlfriend, something Morgan got the impression he had a lot of.

"And five, what's five?"

Morgan hummed a little and let out a sigh, "she has to spend the night with him, like the whole night. I won't wait up for her because she won't be coming home."

"You sound almost saddened by that one."

"In all honesty, it might actually be as hard for me as it will be for her. I've never not waited up for her to make sure she's okay." Morgan admitted, her gut clenching at the thought of not actually knowing if Riley was okay. "Might have to rethink that one."

"I think it'd be good for the both of you, and if it's going to be hard, that just means it's probably the right thing." Carisi stated calmly. Maybe he had a point, maybe a night away from her best friend would do her some good. For god's sake they _were_ grownups, there would eventually come a time when the two of them wouldn't be living together anymore, Morgan just hoped that they'd both be ready when that time came. "Mo I'm sure it'll be fine. Riley seems like a smart girl."

"She graduated from M.I.T. in engineering." Morgan cut in.

"Wow."

"Wow again. Does that shock you, Riley _is_ really smart."

"Then why does she do such stupid things like hook up with random guys."

In all honesty, Morgan didn't know, but she was starting to feel the same way as her partner. Riley needed to smarten up, Morgan just hoped that her five stipulations would help Riley instead of hurting her.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

' _Come to precinct in twenty minutes, you can come with me to drop some stuff off for Stone'_

That's what Morgan had texted and low and behold, within fifteen minutes, Riley sauntered into the precinct in what Morgan could only describe as the 'sexiest high heels' Riley owned. The heels, paired with a tight black skirt that probably could've been a little longer and a shirt that hugged her in all the right places, finished off her outfit, which was covered by a thin peacoat and Morgan could only roll her eyes, while Carisi found himself staring right at her.

Indeed Riley was a sexy girl, and it was clear to Morgan that she had dressed up for the occasion, as if sleeping with the man for a second time warranted her dressing to the nines. Whatever floated her friend's boat, she wasn't about to judge, not when Riley was supposed to be putting on a clinic for Morgan in the first place.

"Nice shoes." Morgan called out and Riley smirked at her friend's words. Carisi looked the brunette up and down before settling his gaze on her face.

"I went to work dressed like this." Riley countered and threw a wave in Carisi's direction.

"I call bullshit." Morgan retorted and stood up, meeting Riley halfway to her desk before leading her back over, nabbing a spare chair in the process.

"Alright, you caught me. These are my 'fuck me' heels and this outfit was specifically picked out to get and _hold_ Attorney Stone's attention."

"Oh so that's where you're headed." Carisi finally managed to find his voice and immediately went into accusation mode. "I tell you, him and you would be good together."

"I'm just going to sleep with him again, it's not like we're getting married." Riley scoffed and took a seat in the chair Morgan had gotten for her. She carefully crossed her legs so as not to give anyone an eyeful and casually leaned her elbow on the desk. "I like a good time."

"Well just so you know, there's a rapist on the loose so might I suggest being a little more careful." Carisi stated, and as much as Riley tried, she couldn't detect any sort of sarcasm lacing his tone. Did that mean that Sonny Carisi actually gave a shit about her?

Riley merely nodded her head in understanding, not entirely sure how to respond to him. Maybe Morgan had mentioned something to him, maybe Morgan figured that if the warning came from Sonny then Riley would me more inclined to listen. Riley would never admit it out loud but it did sort of put her off balance just a little bit.

"Riley here is going to show me how she works her magic." Morgan announced, trying desperately to fill the silence that had fallen over them.

"She won't hardly have to say two words to the guy, not when she's dressed like that." Sonny nodded his head in Riley's direction and she let out a little laugh in response.

"Exactly." Riley threw out. "You think getting guys to take me home is easy? With the right outfit and the perfect words maybe but I worked hard to learn all the right things to say."

Morgan stood up, effectively cutting Riley's monologue short. She grabbed the files off the corner of her desk that she had to drop off to Stone and tucked them under her arm, nabbing her jacket off the back of the chair once they were secure. Riley rose to her feet, straightened out her skirt and stepped up behind Morgan, ready to let her friend lead the way.

"I'll see you tomorrow Sonny Bunny." Morgan said with a smirk and watched as he glared at her in return. Riley was smart enough to keep her mouth shut but threw the man a grin on her way by, following Morgan closely.

They headed out of the precinct and stepped outside onto the sidewalk where the streetlights were bright and lighting up the roadway. There were still quiet a few cars out considering how late in the evening it was, but it didn't matter, Stone's office was a quick walk away and Morgan knew Riley could handle it in her high heels. Her friend was well practiced in the art of dressing sexy and shoes were Riley's number one weapon.

"Sonny Bunny?" Riley quipped, tucking her hands into the pockets on her jacket. "There something I should know? Did you make a move on him already?"

"No." Morgan shook her head and the two fell in stride with each other, Morgan slowing her pace ever so slightly so that Riley didn't have to rush too much in her heels. "It's an inside joke."

Riley took her bottom lip in between her teeth and shook her head, "it's cute."

"Shut your face." Morgan shot back, her mouth fighting off the urge to grin. "Okay, it's a long story, one that I would prefer not to tell you. Me and Carisi are _just_ coworkers."

"Yeah until I kick ass at your whole 'I dare you to do five things' thing." Riley chuckled. "You know I never lose right? Wait, how can you not know that, we're best friends and it's obvious. You should probably just start thinking now about how you're going to confess to Sonny Bunny how you really feel because I got this in the bag."

Morgan let out a low grunt, not entirely sure how to react. On one hand Riley never really did lose, but on the other hand, Morgan had a few tricks up her sleeve and for once, maybe she could get to Riley like no one else had ever managed to in the past.

This was going to get harder for Riley. Yeah sure, her first challenge was to sleep with a man for a second time, that was easy, in fact, Riley was proving it was easy by how nonchalantly she was acting at the current moment, but things would get harder. It had been years since Riley had been on a date, and then she'd have to actually get to know someone on a personal level- yes, Riley shouldn't be so cocky because Morgan was figuring her friend would have a much harder time once they really got in to their deal.

"I hope you scuff your 'fuck me' heels." Morgan scowled. Riley simply nudged her with her elbow, throwing her off pace into a slight stumble, but Morgan recovered and carried on walking, barely even breaking pace. She glared sideways at Riley, who was grinning from ear to ear as they closed in on the ADA's office.

Up a few steps, through a few doors, down a hallway or two and suddenly the two girls were standing just outside of Peter Stone's office, the light still on inside and the door half ajar.

He was expecting someone from the SVU squad to drop off the files he needed but it was apparent that he was _not_ expecting Riley to show up with Detective Loughton. Morgan noticed him straighten up in his chair and then instantly get to his feet to meet them at the door once she knocked to alert him of their presence.

"Liv said you needed these." Morgan announced and produced the files from under her arm, except Peter wasn't looking at her at all, his eyes were glued to Riley, who kept her hands in her pockets and had a casual smile plastered on her face. "Yeah, I brought my friend."

"You always work this late _counselor_." Riley's voice came out much flirtier than Morgan was expecting but holy shit did her friend know how to work. Stone was staring right at her, not seeming like he noticed Morgan at all. "Busy boy."

"I'm in the middle of a really big case." Stone managed to reply and Morgan could almost see the hunger in his eyes. My god, Riley really was working her magic, black magic to be exact. She was incredible. Okay, it wasn't like Morgan hadn't witnessed it before but Riley picked out guys that weren't half as successful as Peter Stone which meant, at least in Morgan's eyes, that Riley barely had to work them at all.

This though, watching her friend hold the attention of an Assistant District Attorney, was incredible. Hell, it was like she wasn't even in the room with them, that was how much attention he was _not_ giving to Morgan.

"Oh a big case for a _big_ man." Riley pressed, sauntering into his office a few more steps, her eyes looking everywhere but at him. _Finally_ , Peter Stone's eyes fell on Morgan and she shrugged at him as if to say 'what can you do'. "We brought you files."

"Yes and one of us might have overdressed for the errand." Morgan threw in with a sarcastic tone. Riley shot Morgan a wink and continued to pace his office, looking at the degree framed on the wall and the knick knacks on his desk. She paused and looked over her shoulder, making sure Peter Stone was looking at her, before she lowered herself down and sat on the arm of the small couch in his office.

"Me?" Riley widened her eyes, trying to act all innocent. "This is how I usually dress."

"And here I thought you dressed up for me." Stone countered. Aha! So, he was apparently just as interested in Riley as Morgan suspected.

To be fair though, Riley was a catch, at least Morgan liked to think so. She was smart, funny, gorgeous, what more could a guy want?

"I don't dress up for anyone." Riley giggled, a sound that Morgan rarely heard. Riley never really giggled- she chuckled, she laughed, but Riley Prescott was not normally a giggler. "Especially not if we're not actually going to be going out anywhere."

Morgan's eyes widened ever so slightly. She was good, she was really good, and honestly, Morgan was rather impressed watching her work.

"Anyway, here's your files." Morgan broke in and Peter hesitated for a few seconds before peeling his eyes off of Riley, who remained perched on the arm of his couch. He shook his head as though he was trying to clear his mind and took the files that Morgan extended to him before setting them on the corner of his desk, his attention immediately falling back to Riley.

"I was just wrapping up here." Peter stated and Riley cocked her head sideways, waiting for him to continue. "And I was just about to head home."

"She's not going to be able to walk much further in those shoes." Morgan cut in, trying to complicate Riley's game just a little bit. If her friend was so amazing at picking up guys, then the least she could do was try and make it harder. It was clear by the look in Riley's eyes that Morgan's words barely even bothered her.

"If I take you home with me again, will you keep the shoes on?" Peter questioned and Riley stole a split-second look past him at Morgan, who was standing there with her mouth wide open. My lord, it was as if Peter Stone was the male equivalent of Riley.

"I might've lied earlier." Riley cooed. "I might not dress up for just anyone but I know a man who appreciates good heels when I see one."

"Seriously?" Morgan muttered and rolled her eyes. Without wanting to listen to her friend for another second, and clearly seeing where this whole thing was going, she slipped out of the office and left Riley all alone in the room with Peter Stone, who was apparently very in to her friend.

Riley fought off the urge to smile when she spotted Morgan stepping out into the hallway. Her performance had been spectacular, even with her friend standing right there watching. Usually she didn't have to lay it on quite so thick but Morgan needed to see her in action, she needed to witness how good she really was at what she did.

"Do we need a cab?" Peter questioned, Riley slowly rising to her full height, stepping closer to him and closing the distance between their bodies. "Or can you make it-"

"I don't wear shoes that I can't walk in…or fuck in." Riley murmured and lifted her right hand up between them, her fingers curling around the middle of his tie. "Maybe we can make good use of this too."

She didn't need to say another word, instead choosing to let go of his tie and let him grab his jacket from the back of the door. Before she could rethink what she was about to do, Peter had her by the hand and was leading her out of his office, the door clicking shut behind them.

Sleeping with a man for a second time was a _lot_ easier than Riley had anticipated.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Her shoes hadn't lasted much longer than the first few seconds he had gotten her on his bed, but they had lasted longer than most of her clothes, the only problem was, she was having trouble finding the left shoe so that she could get the hell out of there.

Peter Stone was incredible at the art of sex and Riley sort of felt bad for leaving so soon after finishing, but she had to get home to Morgan, who she knew would be waiting up for her, plus she was eager to find out what the next stipulation was.

"You know, you don't have to leave so soon." Peter's voice broke her concentration as she worked at the buttons on her shirt, leaving the top few open as she turned to face him. He was sitting in his bed, the covers over his lower half and his bare chest on display. God he was so attractive, and damn it all to hell if she didn't want to fuck him again in the future.

"Unfortunately, I have to get up early in the morning for work." Riley countered, knowing damn well it was a shitty excuse. She just had to get out of there before he expected her to talk to him and get to know him. She didn't want to do that, she wanted to get out before they did anything further, though if he did haul her back to bed, she certainly would have a hard time objecting.

"That's too bad." Peter stated and she offered him up a playful shrug in response. "You sure you can't at least stay for round two?"

"Oooh tempting." She purred and flopped down on to the end of his bed, twisting her upper body to face him. "But I really should go."

"Are you sure?"

God what she wouldn't give to get right back into bed with him, but that would only prolong her leaving. No matter what, she had to get back home to Morgan and the sooner she did it, the less likely it was she'd get attached to the man in front of her. She watched him carefully as he leaned over the side of his bed and produced her missing shoe, offering it to her by leaning in close to her, holding it between them.

"I feel like Cinderella." Riley teased and set her hand on the toe of the black stiletto, Peter not yet letting go.

"Except unlike the prince, I know who this belongs to." Peter murmured. His voice was so sexy and she would not tire of listening to him. It had been a long damn time since a man could turn her on with the mere sound of his voice.

"You're very smooth." Riley pointed out and he let go of her shoe, letting her take hold of it. She didn't break eye contact with him though and let him scoot forward on the bed, getting even closer to her. She sucked in a breath and waited but he didn't try to reach out to her, nor did he try to touch her. Was this him respecting her wish to go home? Or was he scared of something more, just like her? "And you're very good…in bed."

"I can be good other places." His tone was smug and she hated him for it, she hated that she wanted to see him again, she wanted to feel him again, she wanted to let him use her body again. What was it with this man in particular?

"Speaking of other places…" Riley trailed off and urged herself to move, to get off his bed. Her body screamed at her to stay and let him take her again, but her head was pleading with her to get a move on. In the end, her head won out and Riley turned her body around, placing her high heel on her foot and making her way to her feet. She stepped around to the side of the bed where Peter had moved to and was now sitting, watching her, waiting for her to go. "I really should go."

"Okay." His head nodded his understanding and she leaned down, pressing a soft kiss against the side of his mouth. His hand wrapped around her arm but didn't squeeze and after a few lingering seconds, he let it fall away, watching as she retreated towards the door to his bedroom. "Do I at least get your number?"

Riley offered him a sly smirk and walked out of his bedroom, not bothering to answer her question. He was the first guy that she had slept with more than once in a period of years and she wanted to keep it that way. Any more sex sessions in his bed and she'd have to re-evaluate what she was doing and she wasn't ready to do that.

On her way out the door, she grabbed her jacket from the couch and pulled it on, making quick work of doing up the last few buttons before slipping out of his place and making her way to the sidewalk before she hailed a taxi. Normally she'd walk, at least part of the way, but she heeded Carisi's words.

There was a rapist on the loose and as much as Riley didn't want to admit, she didn't feel as safe as she once had.

The ride in the taxi was a quiet one and Riley appreciated the fact that the driver remained almost silent, the exception being that he had asked her where she was going. She had replied and the silence had fallen over them from then until the cab pulled up outside her building. With a quick 'thank you' and a decent tip on top of the fare, Riley hopped out and headed inside.

Morgan was, not surprisingly, waiting up for her, she was sitting on the couch watching some reality show on the television. When Riley wandered in and flopped down beside her, leaving everything on except for her high heels, Morgan turned her head and grinned at her friend.

"Big case for a _big_ man?" Morgan laughed and Riley leveled her with a glare.

"It worked didn't it?"

"I just get the impression that Peter Stone is as much of a slut as you are."

"I'm not going to disagree." Riley broke out into a smile. "God he's amazing in bed."

"That's good to hear." Morgan replied sarcastically. She didn't really want to hear about the ADA that her squad worked closely with, in fact, if she could just convince Riley to keep all talk of him and his bedroom skills to herself, that'd be great. "You going to see him again?"

Riley didn't answer with words, instead choosing to shake her head no. She let out a soft sigh and relaxed into the back of the couch, tipping her head back and staring at the ceiling. Morgan leaned against her side and Riley's arm went around her shoulders, letting Morgan snuggle in to her side.

"Did you learn anything from me?" Riley questioned.

"A little bit." Morgan gave an awkward nod of her head.

"Good. And did I pass your little test thing?"

"You did."

"Right, so what's the next thing you want me to do?"

Morgan let out a soft humming sound and pulled herself away from Riley, sitting up straight next to her and meeting her eyes as Riley averted her gaze away from the ceiling and onto her best friend.

"I want you to go on a date." Morgan answered and Riley's face scrunched up.

"What?"

"You haven't been on a real date in a long ass time. I think it's time you go on a date."

"Morgan-"

"Look, I…" Morgan cut her off but let her words fade away. "I think you need to go on a date and I want that date to be with Peter Stone."

Riley didn't respond, but her eyes did narrow.

She made a move to get up off the couch but Morgan grabbed hold of her hand and forced her to stay on the couch with her. The least Riley could do was offer up an explanation as to why she was so opposed to stipulation number two.

"Okay, it doesn't _have_ to be Stone."

"Morgan I pretty much blew him off."

"So? He's clearly into you, just show up as his office wearing your 'fuck me' heels again."

"It doesn't work like that." Riley argued.

"So just tell me what the problem is, why don't you want to go on a date with him? Or anyone for that matter?" Morgan pressed. Riley wasn't going to get out of this, not without a real good reason.

"I don't…I wouldn't…fuck Morgan I wouldn't even know what to do on a date." Riley groaned and fell into Morgan, letting her wrap her arms around her. "Sex is easy, I put on a hot outfit, say some provocative things and bang, _I'm_ getting banged. Dates are a whole other story."

"Why don't you just ask him to go to a Yankees game with you?" Morgan threw out as if it was the simplest solution in the world- and hey, maybe it was. She could do baseball, she could talk about baseball for hours and obviously Peter knew how the game worked, he _had_ been a player back in the day.

Maybe Riley needed to give Morgan a little more credit than she was giving her already because a Yankees game was a great idea. At the very worst, she'd get to watch her favourite team play and that didn't sound all that bad at all.

"Right okay, well if I'm going to do that, I might need you to set me up to run into him again." Riley hummed.

"I can do that." Morgan replied. "I can definitely do that, just this time, I don't think I want to stick around to watch you flirt, I was almost ready to vomit in my mouth."

Riley merely laughed at her friend, what more could she really do?

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Look alive people, we're officially working a serial rapist case!" Fin called out as Morgan worked away combing through footage and files, trying to find a lead, trying to find _anything_ that might help them find whoever was out there raping and biting innocent females. "Victim number three was attacked last night just a block away from where the first one was."

Morgan blew out a low whistle and turned to face Fin, watching carefully as he made his way into the meeting room. Rollins and Carisi were quick to follow him and Morgan was hot on their heels, Olivia wandering in last. The four of them settled into chairs, eyes locked on Fin as he stuck the third victim's photograph up on the board with the other two.

"That's three victims in three nights, this guy's working fast." Morgan pointed out. "Is that...is that normal?"

"He could be escalating. We're not entirely sure." Benson spoke up and Morgan fought off a sigh. Sometimes working SVU was hard and it was days like these that Morgan really felt it, especially considering Riley had been out and about the night before. What was really stopping their serial rapist from laying his filthy paws on Riley?

Did it really matter that the victims were all blonde? In Morgan's mind this guy was an opportunist and maybe his pattern would change. She wasn't going to count on that keeping Riley safe, not when they could get this creep off the streets and behind bars.

"Loughton, you and Carisi get to the hospital, see if you can't have better luck with the victim. Fin and Rollins are heading to the scene. What we've been doing is clearly not working, maybe changing it up will give us the break we need."

There were no objections and without another word, the squad split up and headed to their assigned tasks. Morgan followed Carisi out of the room, grabbed her coat on the way by and fell in step behind him as he headed for the car. This time he didn't open the door for her and Morgan wasn't really expecting him too.

There were bigger things to worry about that chivalry and with three rapes in three nights, Morgan knew shit was getting real. If they could only find something that would help them catch the guy then maybe she'd feel a little bit better but it seemed that this guy was good.

His DNA wasn't in any database, nor were his teeth impressions, and none of the girls thus far had any inkling as to who he was. No identifying marks, nothing at all except for the same story; the guy came up behind them and the next thing they knew, they were barely conscious on the cold, hard ground.

Morgan remained silent in the car. This wasn't the typical drive with her partner, there would be no light-hearted conversation, nor would Morgan talk to Sonny about Riley and how she made it to the second step, this was all business.

"You doing okay?" Sonny asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

"Sure is different from narcotics." She answered with a grumble. That was the best she could do, the most she could say. This job was hard and the fact that Sonny had done it for so long amazed her.

Anyone else would've turned cold and hard but Sonny Carisi was still a genuinely nice guy who seemed to care about his friends. Case in point, he was currently trying to make sure Morgan was okay even though he was experiencing the very same case as her.

"It still makes he shudder to look at these vics and see the similarity with you."

Morgan opened her mouth to respond but she found that she didn't have the words. Sonny really was a little rattled over this because the victims sort of looked like they could be related to her. What exactly did that mean for her?

Did he care simply because she was his partner and he didn't want to see her get hurt, or was there more to his feelings than that? Did he like her, or was he just protecting her?

"You don't have to think like that." Morgan finally managed to get out. "Lately I haven't really been out late at night on my own."

"That's reassuring."

"Yeah." Morgan nodded her head. "I never thought I'd miss narcotics this much but honestly, everything seemed so much less horrific, you know?"

"I get it." Sonny responded. "I can't picture there being as many pedophiles in narcotics."

"Or as many rapes." Morgan tossed out. "Don't get me wrong, I love what I'm doing with SVU but I just didn't imagine it would be this hard."

He tossed a small, reassuring smile in her direction and yet another blanket of silence fell over the two of them. Morgan pressed her forehead against the cool glass window and watched the scenery fly by as they got closer and closer to the hospital.

When he pulled in to the parking lot, she was the first to hop out of the car, heading for the front doors before Sonny even had the car turned off. If she could get to the victim, she could just ask her the questions she needed the answers to and maybe they could get a suspect.

Before she could get inside though, Sonny's fingers wrapped around her bicep and he gently tugged her back to him, taking a stance directly in front of her. She refused to meet his eyes though and when his other hand came up and gingerly titled her head back so that she was looking at him, she felt a shiver course down her spine.

"We got this Mo. We're going to catch this scumbag."

"But what if we don't?" She whispered, her eyes threatening to fill up with tears. Both of his hands were on the sides of her face, gently cupping her cheeks. She held his gaze but took her bottom lip in between her teeth, praying that she wouldn't cry in front of him.

"We will." Carisi pressed and ran his thumbs along her cheeks, trying to calm her down just enough so that they could go inside without Morgan having a mental breakdown. She lifted her own hands up and held on to his wrists, feeling the material of his jacket and closing her eyes.

If she focused on the fact that he was right there with her, then maybe she could collect herself a little easier. She sucked in a breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out, opening her eyes in the process. What she saw was Sonny's concerned expression looking back at her.

"Sorry." She murmured. "You probably don't want your partner to be so weak-"

"Hey no, I never said that. I don't think your anything but strong Mo. This job is tough and some cases are worse than others. You have to have faith that we'll get the guy."

Faith, right. Morgan could at least try to have faith, right? They'd work their asses off and wouldn't let this case go, not until the got the guy. She knew that much, hell, she would work all day and all night if it meant protecting one more female from getting raped and bitten.

"It just sucks." Morgan growled. "We're no closer to this guy than we were two days ago. How many more women are going to have to…fuck I just want to get him so bad."

"We just got to keep working Mo."

She held her breath and felt his hands move away from her face, his arm coming around her shoulders as he turned her back towards the door. She looked sideways at him and forced a sad smile onto her face, hoping that Sonny was right. She could have faith, she knew how hard her team worked and they certainly wouldn't just give up on this guy. They would exhaust everything they had before that ever happened.

"Keep your head up princess." Sonny encouraged, his arm falling away from her. She gave him a firm nod of her head, wiped her eyes to force back the tears and strode towards the hospital, Sonny falling in step next to her.

They would get this guy, they would find him and arrest him and then hand the case over to Peter Stone, who would put him away for a long damn time. That was the plan and Morgan was ready to execute it.

Well she was, until she saw the face of the young woman who had become the rapist's latest victim. It was weird how much more she looked like Morgan in person, hell, the two could pass as sister's and even Carisi seemed to notice the resemblance, which was evident by the split-second double take he did upon entering her room.

"We're with the police." Morgan said softly, the girl looking directly at her. She had that scared look in her eyes that many victims had but there was a strength in her gaze that Morgan could appreciate. She wasn't going to let this break her. "I'm detective Morgan Loughton, this is Detective Carisi."

"Auden." The girl responded, a bitter tone to her voice.

"Well Auden, we're here to help try to get this guy."

"He bit me." The girl, Auden, snarled, her hand immediately resting against the place just below her breast. "I wish I bit him."

Morgan felt her heart swelling a tiny bit with pride for this girl. She was going to make it a lot easier to work this case, in fact, seeing her ready to pounce at whoever might do her wrong was refreshing. This rapist wasn't going to get away with it and Auden certainly wasn't going to be a hindrance to the investigation.

"What else can you tell us about what you remember?" Carisi spoke up, his tone softer than usual. "Any little detail might help."

"I remember leaving the bar and getting ready to head home when he jumped me from behind."

"Which bar was this?"

"McCabe's."

"And did he say anything to you?"

"He uh…he told me that if I screamed, he'd kill me." Auden carried on. "I didn't know what else to do, I just…I didn't scream and he didn't kill me…but I…"

"What he did to you isn't your fault." Morgan said softly and stepped closer to the woman's hospital bed. She lowered herself down into the chair next to it and set her hands on her knees. "He's done this to other girls too."

"What?" Auden's eyes widened at Morgan's words. "How many others?"

"Two." Morgan answered and glanced down at her feet, trying to keep herself calm and composed. "That we know of. Auden, if there's anything else, anything at all, even if you don't think it's important-"

"His middle finger, there was a scar down the side of it, all jagged and from the tip to juncture." Auden broke in. "I saw it when he…when he covered my mouth."

Just like that, Morgan had gained a little bit of hope that they might actually get this guy, sooner rather than later.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"So he has a scar on his middle finger, she wasn't real sure which hand but sounds to me like it'd be pretty hard not to miss." Carisi announced, taking the lead in the squad room. Morgan sat back and watched him command everyone's attention- boy was this man good at his job, plus he was pretty decent at giving pep talks.

She was a little embarrassed that she had broken so easily outside the hospital, but this case was weighing on her. The idea of being raped, and bitten to boot, rubbed her the wrong way. This man was beyond sick, he was laying claim on women who didn't belong to him, scarring them for the rest of their lives, mentally and potentially physically as well.

"We've got camera footage from the bar to look through too, maybe this guy was caught inside." Fin added quickly.

"I can start looking through it." Morgan offered. After a couple of days doing the very same task, she was accustomed to picking through grainy camera footage, and now she had something, albeit tiny, to look for. Maybe the bar had a camera behind the register that caught the finger scar and ultimately a face to match.

"You sure?" Carisi looked in her direction and Morgan offered him a shrug.

"I have to be useful somehow." Morgan threw a sad smile back at him. "Leave it to me."

"I'll take Rollins back to the bar and see if maybe they had a guest list or something, plus a list of employees that were working that night, and the last couple nights too." Benson instructed. "Fin, you take Carisi, head over to the first and second victim's and see if they were at the bar too and if they noticed anyone who looked out of place."

Morgan waited for the rest of them to clear out of the squad room before closing in on the board, her eyes studying the photos of the victims. She shook her head and wandered out to her desk, flopping down into the chair. Carisi was still at his desk, gathering up his things before he set out with Fin.

"I'm this guy's type." Morgan stated, her voice calmer than she was anticipating.

"It would see that way doll." Carisi countered, Morgan letting out a laugh at her teasing nickname.

"In narcotics, I'd be preparing to go undercover right about now. I think I should talk to Liv, see if-"

"We're not doing that Mo."

"Why not?"

"It's too dangerous." Carisi said. "We take this lead and work with it."

"But I'm this guy's type."

"Yeah, and we don't know where he picks out his victims. What are you going to do Mo, just spend the night in the bar hoping that's where he stalks his prey? What if he lays his eyes on them somewhere else?"

Morgan bit back her argument and let him have the win. He had a point, but she wasn't backing down completely. She just needed to establish more of a background on this guy, she had to figure out where he was picking out his victims. As soon as she knew that fact, then she'd approach Liv about heading undercover because to her it was worth a chance.

Carisi threw her one last look, a look that Morgan took to mean 'drop it', before leaving the precinct with Fin. It was a few seconds later that Olivia strode out of her office with Amanda Rollins in tow.

"Stone's dropping by in about half an hour to drop off some files, can you just leave them on my desk?" Benson asked, her tone polite but to the point.

"Yeah, of course." Morgan acquiesced. "Good luck."

Rollins threw her a smile and took off after Benson, the two of them disappearing from her sight just as Carisi and Fin had done moments earlier. She didn't know how long they'd be gone for but she didn't figure either pair would be back real soon, and she was starting to get hungry. Well hell, if Stone was going to be showing up, then maybe Morgan could convince Riley to stop by with something for her to eat.

It was a 'kill two birds with one stone' sort of deal, but it was definitely worth a shot.

Morgan produced her cell phone from her pocket and pulled up her conversation with Riley, shooting her off a text requesting a sandwich from the shop on the corner. When Riley responded that she'd be right over, seeing as she had been done work for a good hour already, Morgan relaxed in her chair and set to work, combing through the camera footage like she had volunteered to do.

She wasn't totally expecting Peter Stone to show up first but she could work with that, all she had to do was distract him long enough for Riley to show up with her food and then watch as her friend asked him out on a date, which would be a very entertaining sight to see.

"Hey there detective." Peter's voice was just as smooth as always and Morgan lifted her hand in a wave. "You the only one here?"

"For right now, yes. Liv said to just leave the files on her desk." Morgan pointed her thumb behind her in the direction of her boss's office. Stone carried on walking, moving right by Morgan and disappeared into Olivia Benson's office.

It was at that moment that Riley came bounding around the corner, an excited look on her face and a bag full of food in her hand. Morgan stole a glance behind her at Olivia's office but didn't see Stone coming out just yet.

"You will never believe who I just ran into!" Riley practically squealed with delight as she skipped over and flopped down on the spare chair next to Morgan's desk.

"Uh…man, I have no idea." Morgan answered, knowing damn well it wasn't Peter Stone she had run into, not seeing as how he had arrived before her.

"Your old partner Mo, the guy that I fu…"

Morgan turned in her chair and followed Riley's line of sight. She had a shocked look on her face and when Peter Stone emerged from Benson's office, she knew that Riley had been caught off guard. She wasn't wearing her typical sexy outfit, not even a little bit. Riley was currently decked out in a pair of tight-fitting black yoga pants, a grey t-shirt, a simple black running jacket and a pair of running shoes.

"Ry." Morgan hissed and Riley shook her head, practically jumping to her feet. "Thanks for the sandwich."

"Yeah, of course." Riley waved at Morgan and waited, bouncing on the balls of her feet, as Peter Stone closed in on her, stopping just in front of her and looking her up and down. Morgan could tell her friend was antsy, but she didn't know if it was because she was nervous to ask him on a date or if it was because she wasn't made up like the last two times she had seen him. "My god you are everywhere aren't you?"

"I had to drop some things off for Liv." Peter explained, a smile crossing his face at the sight of Riley. Well that was good, at least he was still very interested in Riley. "And you?"

"Ah, also dropping things off."

Morgan lifted her sandwich bag up and smirked.

"You moonlight as a delivery girl?" Peter teased.

"I do." Riley seemed to fall back into flirt mode in the blink of an eye. "Not _just_ food though."

"Do you have an app?"

"Oh my god, you two are gross." Morgan mumbled and shoved her chair back, standing up and moving between the two of them. "So Stone, hey maybe you can help my friend out here?"

Riley cocked her head sideways at Morgan, wondering what exactly she was trying to get at? All Morgan had to do was tell Riley that he was going to be here when she showed up with food and she'd have her game all set out, but Morgan hadn't done that, she had let her walk into the situation blind and underdressed. So, what was she playing at now?

"Legal trouble?" He narrowed his eyes in on Riley and she immediately shook her head no. "Then what-"

"Riley got us tickets to the Yankees game this Friday but I totally forgot I made other plans. She was really looking forward to going but she can't find anyone to go with."

Oh, so that was Morgan's game: beat her to the punch of asking him out so that she couldn't back out, even if she wanted to.

"It's okay, I can just sell them." Riley ground the words out and threw a glare in Morgan's direction.

"But you were looking forward to this game, you were so excited." Morgan pushed, watching as Riley plastered on a fake smile as she turned her attention back to Peter.

"You're not interested, are you?" Riley quipped, studying the ADA's expression. Had her showing up not slicked to the nines meant he was no longer interested in her? Did she give him enough lee-way so that he could let her down gently if he wanted to? Had he-

" _This_ Friday?" He asked.

"I know it's short notice so no worries if you-"

"I'd love to go."

"Really?" Riley's eyes widened, shocked that it seemed that easy. Was asking guys out always so simple? Sure asking for sex was but guys loved sex. Spending time with a girl, that was a different story.

"Does that somehow surprise you?"

"I just thought being an attorney that you'd be super busy."

"Never too busy to spend a Friday night with a pretty girl."

Morgan swore that she saw her friend's face blush the slightest little bit but that couldn't be. Riley never blushed, not in the years that she had known her anyways.

"Okay." Riley brought her hand up and ran it nervously through her hair.

"I'll get you my card." Peter offered and reached into the pocket on the inside of his jacket, producing a simple white card with his name, position and phone number on it. "Call me with the details?"

Riley took the card and stared at it dumbly, her head nodding at his words. Morgan gave her a pat on the shoulder, bringing her back down to earth.

"Right, yeah, I will do that, I will _definitely_ do that."

Riley's eyes were locked on Peter as he strode out of the precinct, and once he was out of sight, she dropped down to sit in the chair, Morgan doing the same. Morgan laughed at her friend's recent performance and shook her head in amusement, glad that Riley had brought her dinner _and_ a show.

"You're so awkward at guys when you're not looking for sex." Morgan joked but Riley's attention was locked on the card in her hold. "Jesus Riley, if you're so scared of calling him, just text him to meet you outside the gate at a certain time."

"I'm not scared of calling him." Riley scoffed but Morgan leveled her with a knowing look. "Fine, I'm scared. I'm not good at spending time with guys without fucking them."

"I've noticed."

Riley stuck her tongue out at Morgan and tucked the card into her jacket pocket, "anyways, thanks for throwing me under the bus."

"If I didn't do that just now, you'd have never asked him out."

"Maybe, maybe not. Now we'll never know." Riley pointed out, turning on her heels. "I will see you at home and you best pray I don't run into your old partner again because I've got all sorts of nervous energy that could be put to use fucking him for a second time, seeing as I do that now."

"Get off it Ry. You've done it once. If it's any consolation, I think you and Stone will make a cute couple."

"It's a baseball game Mo." Riley snorted. "Goodbye."

"Bye." Morgan yelled out after her friend, and for the umpteenth time that day, she watched another person disappear from her sight while she was left alone at her desk.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

For the fourth time in as many days, the SVU squad was dealing with yet another rape, this female had been bitten too. Morgan was back on desk duty combing through security footage and cross-referencing faces in the video with known patrons of the bar; and so far, she was striking out entirely. The rest of the squad members, minus Olivia, were out on their own tasks and for once Morgan was happy to be by herself, at least she could wallow on her own.

And boy was she wallowing. This case, the longer it went on, was really starting to bother her. They were barely any closer to finding the guy than they were the day before and even that clue, which was a scar on a hand, was hardly anything that seemed to make much of a difference. In fact, the only thing that today's victim led them to was the conclusion that their rapist did, in fact, have a type.

Blonde haired, blue eyed beauties who all seemed to resemble Morgan and she'd be lying if she said it didn't bother her. The idea of going undercover was still lingering on her mind but until they had something more than a hunch to go on for location of where the scumbag laid eyes on his victims, she'd be safe and secure at her desk merely working the case from the outside.

In fact her eyes had barely left her work since the rest of the squad had taken off earlier, the only thing that managed to catch her attention was the presence of one ADA Peter Stone, who bypassed Morgan completely and stepped into Liv's office, shutting the door behind him.

Whatever, she didn't really care, they weren't super great friends, and anyways, she figured he was there on business. Okay, so maybe it bothered her a little bit, she wanted Peter Stone to like her, if only so that she could give him the inside track on Riley. Morgan really did want her friend to be with a man, and Peter Stone was a prime candidate.

Rolling her eyes into the back of her head, Morgan let out a sigh of frustration and rubbed the heels of her hands against her face. All of the pictures of the patrons were starting to blur together and as much as she hated to admit it, she felt like maybe she needed a break, even if it was just for a few minutes.

When Liv's door swung open, she set her sights on ADA Stone and smiled as he walked out of her boss's office. When he stopped near her desk, she stood up, crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her butt against the edge of her desk.

"You got a big case or something?" Morgan asked, nodding her head towards Liv's office.

"Not entirely, but I hear you do."

"Ugh let's not talk about it. I feel like we're never going to get this asshole. I mean, what type of person bites someone?"

"Can't say that I know-"

"Well in that sort of way. I'm sure people biting other people isn't as weird as I might be thinking, hell I bet Riley likes to bite…huh, yeah, okay, going to stop talking now." Morgan lifted her one hand up and rubbed at her jaw. "Jesus, you think I'd know better but sometimes I just cannot control my mouth- my god that sounded so awkward, please stop me from talking."

"I think you're doing alright on your own." He stated smugly and flashed her a smirk. "Can we backtrack for a second though? Do you really think Riley-"

"Not going there." Morgan shook her head, lifting her hand up to silence him. "She's a pretty out there girl but I'm not about to comment on her sex life or what she likes to do with men."

"Not even a little bit?" Stone pressed and Morgan made a move to open her mouth. She didn't say a word though, merely considered what she wanted the man in front of her to know about her friend. Sure she wanted Riley to succeed at their little wager but surely Peter Stone deserved to know what was going on, or at the very least have some sort of idea about it, right?

"She's been with a lot of guys- shit that sounded bad. I swear she's a nice girl, she just needs some guidance when it comes to men see and I didn't realize you and her were going to hit it off so well but I think you're good for her."

"We've been together twice." He pointed out. "Don't get ahead of yourself here, she hasn't even given me her number and, trust me, I asked for it."

"Yeah that's what she does, I mean, until you she had never even slept with a guy more than once-"

"I'm sorry?" Peter cut in and tipped his head sideways.

"Again, that sounds bad but Riley has, what's a nice way of putting this…she has issues when it comes to men and even I don't know what they are." Morgan prattled on but paused and looked at Peter's face, trying to gage how he was absorbing all the information she threw at him.

"So when was she with her last boyfriend?"

"College." Morgan answered confidently but realized how that sounded to a man who was interested in her friend, well at least she hoped he was still interested. "It's my fault that she's even considering you as more than just a one-night stand- fuck I need to learn to stop talking."

"Why would it be your fault?"

"I might have challenged her to this stupid bet thing and she set her sights on you for it." Morgan half-assed explained but she could tell by the look of sheer confusion on Peter Stone's face that she hadn't done a very good job. "So I pretty much dared her to ask you on a date, well not you specifically but she chose you, and I support her decision."

"And you think I should feel special because you dared her to ask me on a date?"

"Let me lay this out for you real quick okay; Riley hasn't had a serious boyfriend since she was in college and as soon as I dare her to actually try to date a guy, she picks you. I don't mean to sound cocky but yeah, I think you should feel special because Riley's awesome."

A silence fell over the ADA and Morgan stared at him, wondering what was going through his mind. Had she just ruined things for Riley? Had she said too much to the man in front of her and scared him off? God she was such a bitch but not in an intentional way, she was just trying to help Riley. She wanted Stone to understand that if the Yankees game was kind of awkward it was because Riley wasn't used to going on dates.

She knew it hadn't come off that way though and maybe Riley would be lucky if Stone didn't call and cancel- oh except he couldn't because like he had admitted, he didn't have Riley's number. Well ha!

"You dared her to try to date a man?" Peter quipped and Morgan nodded her head yes. "And that man, under her own choosing, is me?"

"Uh yeah."

"And what's in it for you if she follows through?"

Morgan narrowed her eyes in on him but sucked in a nervous breath, "I might have to tell this guy that I like him as more than a friend."

"You might?"

"That's all you're getting from me." Morgan pressed her lips tightly together but kept staring at the man in front of her. God she was praying that she hadn't ruined it for Riley because she really, really liked the idea of her friend dating Peter Stone.

"So this Yankees game, she's under the impression that it's a date?"

Morgan's eyes widened at the thought that maybe Peter wasn't aware of the implications. Was he just going to the game assuming it was just two people hanging out a baseball game because one of those people had an extra ticket?

"Weren't you?" Morgan asked.

He offered up his answer as a shrug but the smirk on his face told Morgan all she needed to know, Peter Stone wasn't not going to the game with Riley, in fact, if at all possible, he seemed even more interested in Morgan's friend.

"Just like that, her and I go on this _date_ and she wins your bet?" Peter asked and before Morgan could think too much about it, she shook her head no. He looked at her with a mischievous sparkle in his eye and she felt her heart drop. "What else does she have to do to win?"

"Well I don't know if I should tell you."

"You've already told me so much."

Morgan scrunched up her nose at his statement but decided maybe this was beneficial to the entire thing. If Stone knew what the stipulations were for Riley, maybe things would go a little bit smoother.

"If she follows through on the date thing, the next dare is that she has to go out with you without being allowed to take her clothes off. I mean, you can probably tell already, but Riley likes sex."

"And I certainly won't be complaining about that."

"You two gross me out." Morgan snorted. "There's a couple more things after that but I think I'll leave you with what I've already told you, just please don't hurt her."

Stone seemed to consider Morgan's words and she relaxed at the thought. This man, the very ADA standing in front of her, was a decent guy. He would definitely treat Riley like she deserved to be treated and if he did end up hurting her, Morgan figured it wouldn't be on purpose. At the very least, she could trust Peter to give his all to what he wanted with Riley.

"Riley's intriguing and while I'm certainly not opposed to carrying on like we have been already, I do think I'd like to get to know her."

"I can promise you that she's definitely interested in you too. Like I said before, until you came along, she only ever slept with men one time…oh my god, I swear she's not a slut or anything…you know what, I think I should get back to work."

"That's probably better for the both of us." Peter fought off a laugh and Morgan gave him a mock salute. He shook his head at her but wandered off, heading back to his own job and once he was out of sight, Morgan let out a groan at how awfully she had handled the whole situation.

On the bright side though, it seemed as if Peter Stone was genuinely interested in getting to know Riley. Chalk one up for Morgan!


	3. Chapter 3

Riley had taken the coward's way out. She hadn't called Peter to sort out the details, instead opting for a text message that simply gave him a time and place to meet her outside of Yankees stadium- which is exactly where she was standing at that very moment. It was about five minutes before he was supposed to be there and with each passing second, she became more and more nervous.

This wasn't like her, hell, she was used to being confident, cocky even, but this was the first date she had been on in over five years, closer to ten even. She was so out of practice when it came to being with a guy that she was terrified for when Peter was supposed to show up, so terrified that she could feel her heart pounding inside of her chest.

Could she leave before he showed up, could she ditch him without feeling bad about it? Oh god, was she really thinking about leaving instead of just going to watch the Yankees play a baseball game with a guy that she was maybe, potentially, genuinely starting to like?

She was dressed appropriately for the game in her black yoga pants and navy-blue Yankees t-shirt, which was tied at her waist to show off her figure. On top of the t-shirt was her jacket and adorning the top of her head was a black Yankees ball cap. The same running shoes she had worn to drop dinner off at the precinct were on her feet but no matter how comfortable her clothes were, her entire body was tense and she wanted to just curl up into a ball and cry.

Stupid, _stupid_ Morgan. This wasn't something Riley was prepared for, hell, she didn't know what to do on a date, she barely knew what to do in a non-seductive confrontation. Well wait, why couldn't this be a seductive confrontation. Just because she was going to watch a baseball game with the guy didn't mean she couldn't go home with him after.

In all actuality, this was just a really long game instead of the straight to the point game she usually played. She could do this, she could muddle her way through-

"I wasn't sure if that was you." Peter Stone's voice cut into her thoughts and she whirled around to come face to face with the first man to go on a date with her since she was back at M.I.T.

"Oh wow, look at you! First time I've seen you without a fancy-pants suit on." She took in his attire: a simple long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans that hugged him in all the right places. Boy howdy was this man great to look at, even without his suits, which seemed to make any man look ten times better. "Not that I thought you'd show up in a suit, it's just…it's not what I'm used to."

"In a good way?" He questioned, closing in on her. She tensed slightly but seemed to relax a little bit when all he did was come to a stop in front of her. She fished the tickets out of her pocket and offered him up one of them.

"Definitely a good way." She smiled. Okay so this wasn't so hard. Flirt a little, make conversation and at the end of the game, if all went well, she'd go home with him, for a third time. Easy. She could do this. "Shall we go in?"

He took the ticket from her hand and waved her forward, letting her lead him into the stadium. She knew exactly what she was doing and precisely where she was going but when she paused after being admitted entrance, she looked back to find that he had gotten lost in the crowd. Oh dear Jesus, not already. She couldn't have lost him so soon.

Riley held her breath and took a look at the horde of people behind her but before she had a chance to lay her eyes on anyone familiar, a hand grasped hers and tugged her off to the side, letting the group of people pass by. When she looked up at the person who had taken her hand, she found herself pleasantly surprised to see Peter's smirking face.

"I don't want to get lost now." He stated and she found herself laughing at him. She didn't let go of his hand, she didn't even consider it, instead, she gripped it a little bit tighter and carried on leading him to their seats.

Once they were seated, she finally freed her hand from his, if only so she could take her jacket off and drape it over the back of the hard plastic. She let out a soft sigh and settled into the chair, taking in the scene in front of her. The diamond was freshly groomed, waiting for the players to step onto it, and the sky was bright and sunny. It was the perfect day for a ball game.

"Big Yankees fan?" Peter asked, breaking into her thoughts. Riley nodded her head and tore her eyes away from the diamond, turning her attention to him instead.

"My dad used to bring me when I was a little girl. When he and my mom got divorced, I used to come with Morgan, even worked at one of the concession stands one summer." She answered, and found her words coming out surprisingly easily. "I tried going to the Red Sox games when I was in school in Boston but it wasn't the same. Boston fans are mean."

"I pitched once in Boston and I tend to agree."

Riley couldn't help but smile, "were you a starter? Or a reliever?"

"Starter."

"And were you any good?" She teased, leaning against the armrest between the two of them.

"I _was_ good, until I tore my UCL."

She sucked in a breath and debated where to go with the conversation. She didn't want to get too deeply into his injury because it was sort of sad to think about. If he hadn't gotten hurt, how much further into the game- into his career- would he have gone?

"Cubs right? Honestly, you're probably lucky you got out of there, they're awful." Riley carried on. "Even their uniforms are shitty."

"I'm not disagreeing with you." Peter replied cheekily. "But I have to confess that the grey uniforms the Yankees have aren't much better."

"Pinstripes." Riley countered. "It's the pinstripes. God knows I love them."

"Just in baseball?"

"Are you saying you own a pinstripe suit?" She leaned in closer to him but he clearly didn't seem to mind. Her interest was piqued and hell if she didn't love a man in a suit, especially one with pinstripes. "Because I'm currently picturing you in pinstripes and I don't actually think that my thoughts are appropriate for where we are."

"I do own pinstripes." He admitted.

"On that note, I'm going to go get a hot dog because if I sit here any longer picturing you dressed in a snazzy pinstripe suit, I'm liable to do dirty things to you in public." Riley pushed herself away from the arm of the chair and practically hopped to her feet. She offered him her hand and when he took it, without hesitation, she pulled his arm and brought him to his feet, obviously intending for him to join her.

Before the game could start, the two of them were back in their seats, both working away on a hot dog and both with a beer tucked under their seats. Riley was leaning slightly towards Peter as she stuffed her food into her face, much differently than any of the girls Peter had taken out recently. She clearly liked to eat and not just salads or low carb meals.

As if this girl next to him couldn't get any better.

"Just so you know, they have the best nachos here." Riley said after swallowing a mouthful of hot dog.

"Is that a fact or a request?"

"It's a demand." She laughed, he gave her a chuckle to go along with it.

As the game played on, Riley's attention glued to the action in front of her, which was close seeing as they were sitting in the field level seats, Peter lifted his arm up and rested it along the back of her chair, trying to get even the slightest bit comfortable in the hard plastic chairs of the stadium. When his hand nudged the back of her shoulder, she looked sideways at him and tossed him a smile before leaning over even closer to him and resting her head against his shoulder.

"Favourite player?" He asked, his chin very near to the top of her head.

"Easy, Aaron Judge, right fielder." She even pointed to the man in question and Peter gave her a nod of approval. "You?"

"I'm rather partial to the pitcher."

"Shocker." She smirked. "This guy's pretty good."

He wasn't about to admit it out loud but he honestly wasn't paying all that much attention to the game, instead, he kept finding himself looking at Riley. Even with her hair down and her clothes not revealing anything, he couldn't keep his eyes off her. She was a gorgeous girl and he liked having her next to him.

Sure, she was good in bed too but she seemed like so much more than that.

With each inning that was played, Riley would offer up a little bit more information about her favourite team; which player was the best when it came to hitting homeruns, which player had the most impressive defensive play- hell it was nice to spend the evening watching baseball with a girl who was more interested in the game than Peter.

During one of the stoppages in play, her eyes traveled up to the big screen and she laughed at the couple caught on the kiss cam. Without thinking, she leaned in closer to Peter and smiled at him, so when the kiss cam panned to the two of them, she froze.

What the hell? No, no this wasn't…wait, what _was_ wrong with this? At this point, kissing Peter Stone was nothing to her, not when she had already fucked him twice. So, without hesitating, she closed the distance between the two of them, even resting her palm on the side of his face, and kissed him, savouring every second of it.

She could hear the cheers and whoops from the crowd around her but it didn't stop her, no, she felt him deepen the kiss and she let him. This man was superb at it and she certainly wasn't going to object.

When she finally pulled away from him, she sucked in a deep breath but held his gaze.

"Nachos." She murmured and gently drummed her index finger against the side of his face. "I'm going to get nachos."

Peter didn't even care that she left him there, all by himself, wanting nothing more than to kiss her again.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

The apartment was empty when Riley wandered in just before one in the morning, which was something she hadn't been expecting. Morgan was always home before Riley, she was the one that waited up for her, not the other way around, and frankly, Riley didn't like it.

The idea that maybe Morgan was in trouble was the first thing that came to mind, but then again, it wasn't like Riley had anticipated Morgan not being at home. The first thing she did once the door to the apartment was closed was free her phone from her pocket and dial Morgan's number.

It rang twice before the groggy voice of her best friend picked up.

"Hey." Morgan sounded exhausted, which only seemed to worry Riley more.

"Where are you?" Riley pressed, desperation in her tone. For the love of god, there was a rapist out there and Morgan didn't sound like she was very good for wear.

"I'm on my way home." Morgan answered calmly, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Why?"

"It's like one in the morning Mo."

Morgan's response didn't come quickly, a second of silence dragging into two, "shit, sorry. I got caught up at work and I guess I lost track of time."

"Yeah?" Riley sounded sad, scared even, and suddenly Morgan was more awake than she had been all of a second ago. "Is this what you go through when you wait up for me? You scared the shit out of me Mo."

Morgan let out a low chuckle, "it's not the greatest feeling but I trust you, for the most part."

"My god, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Hey, Sonny's just pulling up to the curb, I'll be up in a minute."

All Riley could manage was a nod of her head, knowing that Morgan couldn't actually see her, but it didn't matter. She began pacing the floor in front of the door, her phone tucked back into her pocket, and true to her word, Morgan flung the door open a mere three minutes after ending the phone call.

Fighting off the urge to leap at her best friend, Riley closed the distance between them and wrapped her in a hug, letting out a soft sigh of relief at the feeling of Morgan in her hold.

"I didn't mean to freak you out." Morgan whispered and held on to her pal for a few seconds longer, the two of them reluctantly peeling apart. Morgan kicked her shoes off, made sure the door was locked and headed to the couch where she proceeded to flop down onto it. A groan escaped her and Riley followed her lead, taking a seat right next to her. "I just kept saying to myself 'five more minutes of footage' and before I knew it, Sonny was telling me it was after midnight."

"He drove you home?"

"He certainly did. The rapist has a type; so far all of the victim's look like me." Morgan admitted and Riley visibly flinched at her admission. "Did you just get home?"

"Like five minutes ago." Riley said softly, fighting off the urge to yawn.

"How was the game?"

"Good."

" _Good_ , that's all you're going to give me?" Morgan pressed and poked Riley in the side with her finger. "Did you fuck him again?"

Riley held back a grin but Morgan let out a cackle of laughter anyways, "we made it on the kiss cam too."

"A dream come true." Morgan teased and leaned sideways, into Riley's side. "You planning on seeing him again?"

Riley let out a soft humming sound but didn't use words to answer. Morgan wondered what was really going on in her friend's head and concluded that Riley probably didn't even know. This was a girl who had only slept with men once before moving on to the next and here she was, home from an actual date with a man that Morgan thought might be good for her friend.

Change was good, especially if Riley was happy because of it and so far, it seemed like Peter Stone made Riley at least a tiny bit happier than her normal self.

"Stipulation number three-"

"Shit I actually forgot about that for a second there." Riley cut in and the two of them shared a smile.

"A second date but this time, your clothes have to stay on."

Riley straightened up against the couch and shot a confused look at her friend. No…no, she thrived on sex, loved it, and even though the last three times were with the same guy, she was starting to get used to it. There was no way Morgan could take that away from her.

"Right." Riley nodded her head and paused for a few seconds, thinking of all the ways around this particular stipulation.

"And you can't just move your underwear to the side Ry." Morgan added, Riley growling at the conclusion of her statement. "Or let him put his hands _in_ your pants."

"Fuck you Mo, how am I supposed to have any fun on this 'second date' if-"

"That's sort of the point I'm trying to make here. You go out on a date and you actually get to know the guy, maybe he gets to know you a little bit too. You might come to find you enjoy his company and not just his dick."

Morgan wasn't totally off her rocker, Riley _had_ enjoyed the baseball game with Peter, but would she have had just as much fun if she hadn't gone home with him afterwards? Well in all fairness, she found herself thinking that maybe she would have. It might actually have been kind of cute if he had merely walked her home and kissed her goodnight before leaving her there without fucking her.

"I can see if he wants to go to another Yankees game." Riley tossed out and Morgan gave her thigh a rough pat.

"Or you could try something else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, dinner, a movie? Maybe there's something you two can do together, something fun like bowling or-"

"The batting cages." Riley cut in with a grin. "I can get a former MLB player to teach me how to bat, I mean, what better teacher than that."

"Honestly, that's not a terrible idea. Remember though, your clothes stay on."

"Whatever Mo." Riley shook her head and lifted her hand up, slipping it around her friends' shoulder before playing with the ends of her hair. "Was it just you and Sonny Bunny working late?"

Morgan let out a soft sigh, followed up with a yawn, and settled against Riley, letting all of the tension from the day ease out of her as Riley continued to play with her hair. She loved her job but this case was tough. It seemed that each day that passed that they didn't catch the guy, he left another girl for them to find with the telltale bite mark on her body.

The 'scar on the finger' lead wasn't really panning out and frankly, Morgan was starting to feel desperate. She wanted to get this guy and she wanted to get him _bad_.

"We were the last ones but everyone seemed to be there past the usual 'go home' time." Morgan answered. "I wish I could tell you it was romantic and we had a great time, but honestly I was lost looking through footage and stills, cross-referencing…well you get the idea."

"Oh Mo. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"I know, I'm still sorry though. This case sounds like a bitch. I have faith though, you'll get this asshole."

Morgan tipped her head back and let her eyes fall shut, trying to will herself not to cry. She didn't want to let this guy draw tears but she was getting to the point where she was beyond frustrated. They still had no idea where this guy was picking out his victims, though it was starting to look like the bar had more to do with it than they originally believed, nor did they have any idea who the rapist was.

None of the girls got a look at his face because he cam at them from behind. They didn't seem to get anything more than the scar on his finger, which meant sweet fuck all to them at this point because there was no one to match to the description. This case just sucked and Morgan hoped it would get blown wide open sooner rather than later.

"I want to get him so bad Ry." Morgan murmured, her voice shaky from the threat of tears. "But I don't know what more I can do."

Riley hugged her friend tight and pressed a kiss to the side of her head, desperate to calm Morgan before she freaked out. She needed to stay calm, she was doing the best she could and she had to know that, right? Morgan was an amazing detective and she clearly wouldn't stop until this guy was behind bars.

"Just keep doing your job Mo, that's all you can do."

Morgan gave her a nod of her head and blew out a shaky breath, relaxing into Riley's hold. Tomorrow was a mere few hours away and she figured if she was going to be of any use, she'd need to get some sleep, but first, she was going to bask in the feeling of her best friend hugging her for just a little bit longer.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxX** _

"I'm doing it, I'm going undercover." Morgan announced to Carisi the following morning at work. She had thought a lot about it while Riley hugged her and played with her hair, and now all she had to do was convince Olivia that she could handle it.

"Mo, what the hell are you talking about?" Carisi countered, but Morgan had managed to catch the attention of Fin and Rollins too, who were both looking at her like she had grown a second head.

"We don't even know where the girls are being targeted-"

"Then if I go into the bar and don't get followed, we can maybe rule it out completely." Morgan cut Rollins off, wanting to glare at her fellow SVU squad member, but holding it off. Rollins had a point but Morgan didn't care. She was ready to dress up and go in, hoping to catch this guy before he got any other girls. "If he _is_ there, we can get him. How is this even a question, I don't see how we can lose anything by me going into that bar."

"We could lose you." Fin's voice sounded out and Morgan threw her hands up into the air in clear and utter frustration. "This gig you're talking about, it isn't as easy as you might think."

"I used to go undercover all the time in narcotics." Morgan shot back. "I can do this."

Okay, well she wasn't really expecting her squad to reply with complete silence, but maybe that was a good thing, maybe they were weighing the pros and cons of sending her in undercover. When Rollins offered her up a small wave as if to say 'why not give it a try', Morgan managed to contain her smile.

Fin moved closer to her and studied her, his eyes roving up and down her body before giving her a nod, "I'll back you but you have to get Liv to agree."

That only left Carisi and when she turned to face him, she knew he was going to be harder to convince than even Liv. His face held a stony expression but she wasn't deterred by this, no, it only spurred her on more. She could handle herself, she could do this and get this guy without putting herself in too much danger. She was a big girl, a trained police woman and she knew what she was doing.

Her years in narcotics had prepared her for this very thing.

"I don't like this idea of yours." Carisi stated, but at this point, Morgan didn't really care. If she could do this, if she could get the god damn rapist off the street, then she was going to fight tooth and nail to get Liv's permission.

"Yeah well, I think right now it's our best shot." Morgan countered. "I'm sick of coming in to work every morning to another girl raped and bitten."

"We all are Mo." Carisi retorted and threw his hands in the air. His tone was reaching the point of aggravation but Morgan was going to do this; pending Olivia's approval of course.

She didn't bother dignifying his words with a response, instead she sat down at her desk and waited until Olivia showed up. A good ten minutes later, their leader walked into the precinct holding a photograph in her hand but didn't say a single word to anyone as she marched right into the squad room and plastered yet another girl's picture onto the board.

Morgan shook her head in disgust at the rapist on the loose and jumped to her feet, following Olivia into her office and shutting the door behind her. Liv dropped down to sit at her desk and Morgan crossed her arms over her chest, praying that this conversation went in her favour.

"What's up Morgan?" Olivia asked, her tone soft and polite.

"I want to go undercover." Morgan answered and lowered herself down into one of the chairs opposite to Liv's. "I think if I go into that bar, then maybe I can draw this guy out. I'm clearly his type, or at least the closest thing you've got on your squad and I can definitely handle myself-"

"What if the bar's not where he's targeting these women?"

"Then what do we lose except one night of me floating around inside the bar?" Morgan offered. "Either he's not using the bar and I waste my time, or he is using the bar and we have a chance to get this son of a bitch."

Olivia seemed to think about what Morgan had offered her and this time, Morgan accepted the silence as a good thing. It was evident that Liv was thinking about the situation in her head, about what she could do for Morgan to ensure her safety, what protocols she could put in place to protect her- yes this was good, this was a step in the right direction.

"Your head of narcotics had nothing but good things to say about you." Liv pointed out and leaned back in her chair, holding Morgan's gaze. "He commended you on the way you did your job, especially when it involved undercover work. I think I'm almost willing to let you do this."

"So what's stopping you?" Morgan questioned, genuinely interested in what Liv had to say.

"Honestly, just a gut feeling. Let me have the day to iron out some wrinkles and we'll set you up to go undercover tomorrow night, how's that sound?"

Holy shit! Was Liv actually going to let her do this, was she really going to let Morgan go undercover in an attempt to catch the rapist that had totaled seven women so far? She could wait as long as Olivia wanted, it didn't matter, as long as she got to go undercover. This was a great plan, and it had been all Morgan's.

"Sounds fair." Morgan bowed her head and stood up, pausing before leaving her boss's office.

"In the meantime, take Fin and head over to the hospital to talk to the latest victim, and maybe try to piece together some sort of identity for tomorrow."

"On it."

Morgan turned on her heels and opened the door, stepping out into the bullpen. As she took a seat at her desk, she met Carisi's gaze and tossed him a smile. She had this, she could do it, and it didn't matter if he had her back or not.

"What'd you say?" Carisi asked, not even bothering to pretend to have not been watching her the entire time she was in Olivia's office.

"I told her about my idea to go undercover, she's going to set it up for tomorrow night."

"What? No way."

"Yes way Sonny. I'm going to get this asshole."

Morgan didn't want to hear his response so she strode over to Fin, tapped him on the shoulder and let the older man lead her out of the precinct. In just a little more than twenty-four hours, Morgan was going to be undercover in the hopes of catching the prolific serial rapist that the squad was working on.

Now if only Sonny Carisi could get on board.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Morgan couldn't help but yank on the short hem of her dress every five minutes. Good God she was starting to regret borrowing a dress from Riley, but it seemed better than anything she could've scrounged up from her own closet. This was her night to shine and by god if she wasn't ready to catch their serial rapist before he could hurt any more innocent girls.

She just hoped that this was the right spot, the place where their rapist targeted his victims, because if it wasn't- well Morgan wasn't prepared to accept that. She didn't want that monster out on the streets any longer.

This whole case felt like it was her swan song.

Morgan ran her hands down the front of the super short black cocktail dress that Riley had loaned her. It hugged her in all the right places and left very little to the imagination, which was precisely the reason why she had chosen it, she wanted to catch the monster's attention, she wanted him to pick her because she was going to get him, she was going to fight back and he wasn't going to get away from her.

"Nice dress doll." Sonny's voice sounded out in her ear piece.

"Thanks." Morgan muttered under her breath, her arms leaning against the bar as she scanned the crown around her. With every person that approached the bartender and asked for a drink, she checked their hands if she could and as of yet, she hadn't laid eyes on the scar. "Think Bitey McBite-face will like it too?

"That name isn't going to stick." Rollins' was the next voice she heard but this particular instance, even with the resentment she held towards her fellow detective, she couldn't help but bite back a laugh. Okay, so Morgan was really trying to make the name stick, but it was a nicer thing to say that what she was really thinking. "Anyone got anything yet?"

A chorus of 'no' resounded in her ear and Morgan fought off the urge to sigh. She hated waiting, despised it with a passion, especially when it came to something like this. She just wanted the guy to show up, she wanted to play him into her hand and then take him out like the scumbag he is.

So far no one had anything and Morgan lifted her hand into the air, catching the bartender's attention. She requested a beer and took a seat on a stool near the end of the bar, trying to get a better vantage point. With a steady look around the room, and only spotting Fin sitting at a table with a couple of the bar's regulars, she shook her head and let out another soft sigh.

"Waiting for someone?"

Morgan turned towards the voice, her eyes immediately falling on the man's hands and spotting no scar. She lifted her eyes up to meet his gaze and threw on a smile, knowing that she was going to have to get rid of this guy quickly and quietly.

"Yeah." Morgan murmured and wrapped her fingers around her beer, holding it tight. "Sorry."

"Too bad." The man said, hesitating for a second before moving on. Huh, well that was a lot easier than she would've figured, but then again, with her shitty luck lately, things were bound to break for her, right?

Morgan rolled her eyes at the man and his failed attempt but wondered to herself if it was that simple for the rapist. Did he just walk up to the girls and say something as easy as 'waiting for someone'? Or was it a lot more elaborate than that? What the hell did this guy do? What went through his mind?

"Still all clear." Carisi's voice almost seemed to relax her and Morgan leaned her side against the bar, taking a sip of her beer while scanning the room at the same time. Her mind drifted to Riley for a second, her friend was stuck at home for the night, Morgan made sure of it. She made Riley promise not to leave the apartment until Morgan gave her the all clear.

She had also told Morgan not to text her unless she texted her first.

This was all to get rid of one distraction, to save Morgan from having to worry about Riley while undercover.

"I've got nothing out here." Rollins added and Morgan knew she was stationed near the alleyway where more than one of their victims had been found.

"Nothing near the front." Olivia's words added to the conversation and another couple of guys approached the bar, one of them setting his hands on the surface.

Morgan stared at his hands in a way that she hoped looked unsuspicious and when she didn't see any scars, she immediately moved her eyes to the next potential target. Still nothing, a big fat load of nothing.

She wanted to growl, to cry out in frustration, but all Morgan did was take another sip of her beer, setting it back on the bar but keeping her hand around it. She spotted a man approaching the bar and when he was a good ten feet away, he seemed to spot her too, his eyes seemingly lighting up with excitement. She pretended not to notice him but felt him brush against her arm as he closed the distance between them, leaning on the bar right next to her.

"You come here often?" He quipped with a charming smile, his hands folded together, but there, in Morgan's line of sight, was the very scar that Auden had described. She tried to keep herself calm and cool, not wanting to tip the man off, but he was here, he was right in front of her, and he was going down.

"It's my first time." Morgan purred in response and surprised herself at how flirty she sounded. It was almost like she had maybe learned something from Riley after all. "I'm a McCabe's virgin."

"I'm sure that's the only type of virgin you are." Carisi scoffed in her ear and Morgan forced herself to ignore him, trying desperately to pay sole attention to the man in front of her.

"They make the best Whiskey Sour."

"Oh yeah? I'm much more of a beer girl." She countered, a certain husk to her voice that would make Riley proud.

"That's too bad." The guy carried on and Morgan had a hard time not staring at his hand. She was so close.

"But I mean, if you wanted to buy me one of those Whiskey Sour things, I'd be totally into it."

"Cut it back Mo, don't lose him." Carisi chided.

Morgan watched for a second as the man considered her offer and when he waved the bartender over and order two whiskey sours, she knew she had hooked him, now she just had to work on reeling him in.

When their drinks were set on the bar, Morgan waited and let him take the first sip, then she followed his lead and took a sip of her own, not hating, but also not enjoying, the taste. He gave her a nod of his head and took a seat on the stool next to hers, getting comfortable and hopefully settling in for a little bit.

"Thanks." She plastered on a smile and picked the drink up, clinking the edge with his.

"Should we toast or anything?"

"To new friends?" Morgan questioned, and he lifted his glass up, officially toasting to new friends.

She spent the next few minutes trying to get to know him and keep him interested, and even though she wasn't as comfortable with flirting as Riley, she was holding her own, getting a bit of feedback from the people in her ear. She heard Carisi making comments about the scumbag but the most helpful tips came from Rollins.

Okay, so maybe Morgan should give the woman a break and get to know her better. Just because she continued to lead Sonny on didn't make her a terrible person.

"What do you say to going somewhere a little more private?" Bitey McBite-face broke into her thoughts and Morgan was stunned into silence, barely managing to nod her head yes. She heard Olivia's voice in her ear telling everyone to watch her back and Morgan slipped off the stool, waiting for the man to do the same.

As soon as his feet hit the ground, he had his arm around her back and he began leading her away from the bar. She moved through the crowd with him, letting him lead, and when they approached the back hallway near where the bathrooms were, Morgan felt herself tense up the tiniest little bit.

Rollins had eyes on the alleyway but she wasn't entirely sure where this hallway came out in relation to the alley. Oh well, it was too late now. She was going to do this whether she did it herself or with backup.

As soon as the door opened, the man flung her forward and she had to throw her hands out in front of her to keep from slamming into the wall face first. She felt her wrists twist on impact but she was alive, she could handle a little pain if it meant this guy went to jail for a long damn time.

"Oh come on, I like girls better when they fight back." He remarked and Morgan sucked in a breath before turning to glare at him. "Ooooh you look like a fighter."

She made a move to lunge at him but he stepped sideways at the last second and pushed her to the ground, the rough pavement scraping her knees and drawing blood. Morgan remained on her knees for a split second but was quick to make it to her feet, it was too late though, he had his arm around her neck before she knew what was happening.

He squeezed harder, forcing the air out of her lungs, and even though she heard the voices of her squad in her ear piece, she couldn't respond. He continued to hold her in a chokehold but she flailed her arms, desperate to lay a hit anywhere on him that she could. She felt her hand connect with the side of his head but that only caused him to loosen his chokehold, not let go.

It was enough though, because Morgan twisted her body, grabbing onto his arm with both of her hands and pulling as hard as she could. His grip loosened a little bit more and she threw her head backwards, connecting with his face.

"God damn! You _are_ a fighter!" He cheered her on, finally relinquishing his hold on her neck. She dove forward and turned on her heels, hoping to get herself squared away before he could come at her from behind again.

His hand latched onto her wrist and pulled but Morgan threw her knee up, nailing him in the thigh. He didn't let go, in fact, this just seemed to make him angrier and for the life of her, she couldn't figure out a weakness, nor could she figure out why her squad wasn't right there with her.

She could hold her own though, she could definitely fight this guy, at least for a little while longer.

Morgan sidestepped but the man's fist flew out, landing in her gut and knocking the breath right out of her. She dropped to the ground like a limp noodle and he was on top of her within seconds, forcing her to lay flat on the ground as he straddled her waist. She lifted her arms up and clawed, scratched, flailed at him in any attempt to hit him and get him off her, but it was no use. He gathered both of her hands together and held them above her head as he punched her in the side with his other hand. Once she was weakened by a few more blows to the side and ribs, he leaned over her with a leery look in his eyes.

"You're the feistiest one so far."

He slid his hand up the bottom of her dress, bringing the material with him, and when it was revealing enough skin, he leaned down, teeth bared, and she knew what he was going to do. Fuck no she wasn't going to get bitten, she didn't want that, she was better than this.

With everything she had, she brought her knee up, connecting it with his groin and he let out an almost silent gasp, his hold on her hands releasing immediately. Her hands flung forward and she grabbed at anything she could, her fingers connecting with his face and her thumb poking into his eye.

"Mo!"

She dug her nail into his eyeball and felt the soft tissue against the tip of her thumb, his scream echoing off the walls of the alleyway.

"Mo stop!"

She could hear Carisi, she could see Rollins running towards her, but this guy was the only thing she was intent on looking at. She pulled her thumb back and made an attempt to go for his other eye, but he managed to lift his knee up and dig it into her hip, drawing out a pained grunt from her.

"Son of a bitch!" Morgan shrieked and the man gave one last fool-hearty attempt at hitting her, his fist landing on the side of her face.

Well shit, that was going to be a shiner.

Carisi hauled the man off of her and Rollins was quick to grab his hands, pinning them behind his back. Fin and Olivia jogged out from the same doorway she had been brought through but Morgan wasn't the least bit interested in them, she was more concerned about the fact that Carisi had pulled the guy away from her.

He had taken away her punching bag and she wasn't done.

He offered her his hand but Morgan brushed it away, choosing to sit up on her own instead, and moving very slowly as she did so. Her ribs hurt, it was hard to breathe and she was blinded by rage. The son of a bitch had actually tried to bite her!

"Let me at him." She demanded and hobbled to her feet, the pain of her injuries starting to leach into her system. The adrenaline was wearing off and Morgan was starting to feel how severely she was actually hurt.

Her wrists were on fire from catching herself from colliding with the wall, she could feel blood trickling down the side of her face from where he had hit her and her knees were burning from landing on them. But she still wasn't done with him.

"Mo stop." Carisi pleaded and raised his hands, holding them out in front of him, showing her that he meant no harm. She looked past him at Bitey McBite-face, who was being led away by Rollins and Fin, and let out a gut-wrenching growl at the man. "Mo!"

Morgan's eyes went wide and she finally looked at Carisi, taking in the sight of him in front of her. He looked terribly worried and when she tried to take in a deep breath, she let out a hiss of pain.

"I'm not done." Morgan said, but her conviction was starting to fade. "No…"

"Doll, it's over." Carisi murmured and moved his right hands towards her face, gingerly running his fingers along the bruise that was already beginning to form. She winced at his touch but didn't move.

"Get her to the hospital, she needs to be checked out." Olivia commanded, and even Morgan knew better than to argue with Olivia Benson. "We'll get this guy booked."

Carisi nodded his understanding and motioned for Morgan to follow him. She paused though and stared out at the alleyway where the man had tried to take her on. She knew that if she had been left alone with him for even just a few more seconds she would've done irreparable damage and part of her was mad at Carisi for not letting her hurt him any further.

She didn't need him to protect her, she could handle herself, and she could definitely teach that man a few things about women too. Fucker deserved more than she had given him.

"Mo come on." Carisi begged. She shook her head, collecting her thoughts, and turned on her heels. She didn't say a word to him as she brushed past him and out towards the street.

All he could do now was pray that she was okay and that she was able to come back from the feral version of herself that he had just witnessed in the alley.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX  
** _

"Motherfucker!"

Riley turned on her heels and headed in the direction of Morgan's yell. She had been on her way to pick her up but it was evident that Morgan wasn't quite ready to go home yet. When Riley closed in on the room, the door half ajar, she paused and knocked before entering.

When she saw the bruise on the side of Morgan's face and the crazy look in her friend's eye, she rushed forward but was stopped by an arm around her waist. Sonny Carisi held her back and Riley stepped back, finally catching Morgan's attention.

"Hey Ry." Morgan sounded much calmer than her previous exclamation. There was an attending nurse pressing against her sides and when she hit a particular spot, Morgan tensed and let out a hiss of pain. "Watch it."

"Mo." Riley murmured and carefully stepped around Carisi, moving to take a seat on the hospital bed next to her best friend. She spotted more bruises starting to form on the skin that she could see. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fucking fine." Morgan growled and hissed again when the nurse continued to prod at her. "God damn!"

"She took a bit of a beating." Carisi supplied and Morgan lifted her hands up, giving her partner the finger. It was then that Riley noticed the fabric braces wrapped around Morgan's wrists. "Guy got the jump on her."

"Yeah and he got my fucking thumb in his eye, I think I came out on top." Morgan snarked. "I can handle myself."

Riley nodded her head in understanding and grabbed the hem of her friend's shirt, shifting it up farther and taking a better look at the darkening bruises littering her skin. Riley sucked in a breath but released the shirt, letting it fall back down. The nurse, however, continued to poke and prod her way up Morgan's side.

"She's got some cracked ribs." Carisi supplied, Morgan leveling him with a glare. Riley reached over and grabbed Morgan's hand, squeezing it gently and drawing her attention away from Carisi. When Morgan's eyes met Riley's, she immediately softened and let out a sigh of frustration.

"I'm good Ry." Morgan whispered and let her forehead drop to rest against Riley's shoulder. "Just achy."

"Okay." Riley murmured back and let Morgan use her as a support, literally and emotionally. "When can she go home?"

"Soon." The nurse piped up. "We've got a prescription for some pain killers that you can pick up on the way out but other than that, she's pretty much all ready to go."

"Thanks."

Riley looked from the nurse to Carisi and he nodded his head towards the hallway, suggesting he wanted her to meet him out there. Riley reluctantly pulled away from Morgan and made her way to her feet, passing Carisi as she wandered out into the hallway, him following her closely.

She leaned against the wall a good ten feet away from the doorway and Carisi stood in front of her, his hands tucked into his pockets. She held her breath but didn't break the silence between them, wanting to give him a few seconds to collect his thoughts.

"She went primal." Carisi stated, his legs carrying him back and forth as he began to pace. "She had this look-"

"Beast mode." Riley supplied. "I've seen it once before."

"Then you know how terrifying it is."

Riley nodded her head, "it's like Morgan goes feral. Just back off her, she'll come around."

Carisi took her words to heart but Riley could tell he wasn't completely okay with it. Riley would never admit it out loud but Beast Mode Morgan was a terrifying sight, and Riley thanked god she had only ever seen it once before, but it had been bad.

"Look, I don't…I didn't see what all happened to her-"

"She's a big girl." Riley cut in. "As long as she came out the other side with all her body parts in tact than she did okay in my books."

"No offense but how are you not just a little more worried?"

Riley sucked in a breath, held it for a few seconds, and let it out, "Morgan's very independent, I worry about her all the time, but in the grand scheme of things, she's a good person, she can handle herself. She went undercover, I trusted that she'd come out okay."

"But she's _not_ okay." Carisi argued. "Clearly she's not okay."

"Maybe but that's not for you to decide." Riley pressed, bringing her arms up and crossing them over her chest. "You going to trust me to look after her on this or are you going to keep telling me she's not actually okay-"

"I think you should be more concerned-"

"Riley's right." Morgan's voice cut in and Riley turned her head sideways to catch sight of Morgan hobbling slowly out of the room they had all just been in. Carisi rushed towards her but Morgan waved him off, stepping out into the hall further and gaining confidence with every step she took. "I'm good."

"You're not Mo." Carisi retorted. "You're not and you damn well know it."

"Sonny-"

"No. You don't get to do that. You should've known better, I told you that this whole undercover thing was a bad idea and then you go and get yourself beat up. How, in anyone's eyes, is that okay?"

Morgan glared at him and scrunched her nose in anger, "I got a god damn rapist off the street."

"At what cost?"

"So I have a few scrapes and bruises Sonny. I'll heal, all that matters is that those girls can have some semblance of peace." Morgan shot back. "Now if you'll excuse me-"

"We're not even close to being done here Mo!" Carisi barked, so loudly and firmly that even Riley tensed up, striding over to Morgan to stand next to her. No one spoke to her friend in that tone. "You could've been seriously hurt, that scumbag could've…"

"Yeah and he didn't." Morgan said, her voice calming down ever so slightly. "You have to trust me."

"I…"

"Don't you trust me? I'm your partner Sonny." Morgan pushed and reached her hand out, latching on to Riley's arm. "If you don't trust me, maybe you should rethink our partnership."

"Mo-"

"Save it Sonny." Morgan lifted her hand up with just a tiny wince, and held it in front of him, cutting him off. "Come on Ry, let's go home."

Riley threw Carisi a soft smile and walked side by side and step by step with her friend. Carisi watched them go, angry at Morgan for getting herself hurt, angry at Bitey McBite-face for getting the jump on her, but mostly angry at himself for not having a little more faith in his partner.

Morgan was a strong woman, she clearly handled herself against their rapist, and so what if she had gotten hurt, she had still fended him off.

God why did Morgan have to be so stubborn, why couldn't she just accept that he worried about her, that he wanted her to go through life without managing to get herself too hurt? This whole undercover thing hadn't sat well with him yet she had pushed for it, she had gone through with it and now she was going to be off work for a few days at least to recover.

Had she even thought that she'd be leaving him without his partner for any amount of time? Had she considered the rest of the team in her decision to approach Liv about going into that bar and playing a part? No, no she hadn't and now they were going to have to work a man down until Morgan was well enough to come back.

He hated that he had immediately went into overprotective mode. But how was he supposed to handle it? She was hurt and it was partially his fault. If he had pushed back harder, if he had demanded Liv reconsider letting her go undercover- hell if he had just gotten there a few seconds earlier, he could've kept her safe.

"Mo what did I do?" Carisi muttered to himself and shook his head. She was clearly upset with him and he couldn't blame her. If it had been Fin that had taken the beating, there was no way he'd be this upset, so why was it such a big deal that it was Morgan?

Without wanting to spend another second alone in the hallway, Carisi took off and headed towards the exit, desperate to figure out a way to explain to Morgan that he _did_ trust her, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to worry.

Maybe he wasn't completely in the wrong for caring, but she had to know that her actions affected more than just herself.

They affected the team, but most importantly, they affected him too.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"You ask Stone on that date yet?" Morgan asked as she gripped the small bag containing her painkillers in her hand, waiting as Riley shoved her key into their apartment door and unlocked it. As soon as it was open, Morgan pranced inside and headed right for the kitchen, ripping open the bag and setting the bottle of pills on the counter. "Ry! Fuck, did you ask the guy out yet or not?"

"Forgive me for thinking that maybe we should have a serious conversation about you." Riley snarked right back and meandered into the kitchen, taking a seat at their small kitchen table. "Because honestly, I don't mind dealing with the second degree from your partner but I'd sure as hell like to know if you're _actually_ fine like you claim."

"Dandy." Morgan countered and lowered herself down into the chair opposite to Riley. "Seriously, I'm good."

"There's an ugly shiner on your face that says otherwise." Riley motioned towards Morgan's face and Morgan winced at the thought that there was a bruise there that other people could actually see. Okay, so maybe it did hurt a little bit- scratch that, it hurt quite a bit, but she was standing by her proclamation. She was fine, and if fine really only meant that she was in better shape than the girls who had been raped and bitten, then so be it.

"Honestly, I'm okay." Morgan lowered her voice to just above a whisper and Riley extended her hand across the surface of the table, Morgan reaching out to grab hold of it to comfort her friend, wanting to soothe Riley's worries.

"Carisi was really upset." Riley pointed out. "I'm not saying you should apologize, but maybe you should at least consider it from his point of view."

"Ry I don't…I came away from that bar without being raped. That's a win in my book."

"That's a pretty sad definition of a win Mo." Riley pointed out. "Sure you didn't get sexually assaulted but you got physically assaulted. You have a shiner on your face, your wrists are wrapped and you said you had a few cracked ribs. That's a lot for one person to handle."

"It's worth it." Morgan sighed.

"Is it to the people who care about you?" Riley offered. "I sat at home worrying about you the whole time and it doesn't mean I didn't believe that you'd be okay, it was more because I kept thinking of all the things that could go wrong."

"What?" Morgan straightened up in her chair and stared across the table at Riley.

"Yeah you think everything's always going to work out but what if that guy had slipped something in your drink, what if your squad hadn't gotten to you in time, what if he had taken you somewhere else where they couldn't get to you." Riley explained. "That's terrifying to me, and I can guarantee that as your partner, Sonny Carisi probably had similar thoughts."

"I uh…I guess I never…hey!" Morgan leveled her with a glare. "You're supposed to be on my side here."

"I am." Riley let out a low chuckle. "I think you kicked ass, literally, but not everyone knows you quite like I do."

Morgan took her words in and considered them. Riley had been her best friend for years; Sonny had been her partner for a matter of weeks. Sure he shouldn't have said some of the things he did to her but maybe Riley had a point. Not everyone knew her quite like her best friend, and maybe not everyone was aware of what she was truly capable of.

"I _Beast Moded_." Morgan breathed the words out and Riley smirked at her friend.

"So I was told."

"Jesus."

"Yeah."

"The last time I did that was when…"

"Derek Delmonico tried to get handsy with me at prom." Riley supplied.

"God he was such a dick." Morgan shook her head.

Riley stayed quiet but gave her a nod of agreement. It had been quite the night, Derek had been in the limo with them before they had gotten home, Riley's date had skipped out early and Derek had seated himself so close to her that he was practically on top of her. When he tried to kiss her without asking, Riley had said no and tried to push him off. He hadn't given up though and, drunk or not, Morgan wasn't having that.

She had gone feral that night too, ripping the bastard off Riley before he had a chance to do anything more. She had squeezed his balls so hard in her hands that she knew he wouldn't be trying anything like that again for a long, long time, if at all. Derek Delmonico hadn't walked right for a week afterwards.

"Beast Mode Morgan is scary." Riley stated. "I just thank god that I've never been on the receiving end of her."

"And you would never." Morgan shook her head. "I love you too much."

"I know that but maybe Carisi doesn't. Maybe he didn't like the idea of you going crazy and not being able to be brought back. The idea that you had to revert back to your primal nature could've been avoided had everything gone just a little bit better and maybe that's what your partner was thinking."

Morgan pressed her lips together and considered what her friend was saying. She had a point, but that didn't mean she was going to just let Carisi get away with acting like a bitch to her. He didn't get to yell at her and get away with it, no, she'd make him beg for her forgiveness and it certainly wouldn't come easy.

"Fine, you're right. He can still suffer a bit though." Morgan acquiesced.

"Oh he totally gets to suffer. He doubted you." Riley grinned and even let out a little laugh, drawing one from Morgan too.

"Okay good."

Morgan gave Riley's hand a reassuring squeeze and peeled her fingers away. Standing up, she stepped to the counter and grabbed the pill bottle, popping the lid off and dropping one pill into her hand. Riley watched carefully as Morgan then went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, using a mouthful of it to swallow the pill.

When the water was put back in the fridge, Morgan moved back to the seat at the table and threw a devious smirk on her face.

"After all this, you think I haven't forgotten that I asked you about Stone and you never answered." Morgan tapped her fingers against the top of the table, watching as Riley rolled her eyes.

"I have not had a chance to ask him out yet." Riley answered.

"And why not?"

"Jesus Christ, what do you want me to do, ask him now?" Riley threw her hands up in frustration.

"Text him." Morgan egged her on. Riley growled in annoyance and produced her phone, her eyes catching the time.

"It's almost two in the morning."

"Right, so?"

"Morgan!"

"Worst case scenario, he's sleeping, he gets the text when he wakes up. Best case scenario he's still awake and he gets the text now."

"Oh fuck off." Riley mumbled.

"Do it!"

"Oh my god, no."

"Then give me the phone and I'll do it."

Riley stared at Morgan for a few seconds but decided that if she did it herself, at least she'd be able to text what she really wanted and not have to worry about Morgan texting something stupid. Quickly typing out a text to Peter Stone, Riley turned the screen towards Morgan and let her read it before she could hit send.

' _I was wondering if you wanted to go out again, we could hit up the batting cages this weekend. Let me know what time works for you.'_

Morgan extended her hand towards the phone and hit the send button before Riley could change her mind.

"Mo!" Riley gasped and retracted the phone from her friend, staring at the screen and wondering if she should've said something else, offered up a different type of date. "I hate you."

"Hmm, no you don't. But come on Ry, you know you've got ADA Stone wrapped around your finger, don't you?"

Riley shook her head no but immediately stopped as his reply popped up.

' _You pick a time for Saturday and I'll be there.'_

"Fucker's all yours for the taking Ry." Morgan laughed and stood back up. "Riley Stone, it's got a nice ring to it."

"Fuck off." Riley retorted, but Morgan could tell by the small smile on her face, that maybe she liked the sound of that too.


	4. Chapter 4

Morgan was making it difficult for Riley, but maybe it was partly her own fault. She hadn't been paying attention to how many of her painkillers Morgan had taken and when she went in for another, Riley hadn't objected because she didn't know for sure what she was supposed to be doing.

It was very evident by the glazed look on her friend's face and the constant laughing from Morgan, that maybe she shouldn't have taken the last pill that she did, especially since she was trying to get herself ready to go to the batting cages with Peter Stone.

"Whatcha doing?" Morgan quipped from her spot on the couch and she quickly dropped down to her side before laying upside down on the couch, her head hanging over the edge. Riley tried to ignore her but Morgan was making her nervous. She was already injured; Riley didn't want her to hurt herself anymore by doing something stupid.

"Trying to get ready." Riley countered and snapped her fingers at Morgan, motioning for her to side up right on the couch. Morgan blew out a raspberry but reluctantly lifted herself up and laid on the couch like a normal person, giving Riley a chance to deke into her room and work on getting ready. "Please behave for like five minutes!"

"I always behave." Morgan muttered and rolled over on the couch, pushing her face into the pillow and letting out a giggle.

Riley quickly stripped out of her sweats and threw on a clean pair of yoga pants, complete with her Yankees t-shirt, which seemed appropriate seeing as she was going to the batting cages. Before she had a chance to put on a little bit of make-up, Morgan let out a cackle of laughter, which was followed by a thud.

Rushing out into the living room, Riley spotted her friend sitting on the floor in front of the couch, a dumb look on Morgan's face.

"Ry-pie I'm bored." Morgan whined. Suddenly the idea of going out with Peter didn't seem like such a great idea. What the hell was Morgan going to do while she was gone? Before Riley had a chance to even consider cancelling for a second longer, a knock sounded out in their apartment from the front door and Riley's body went rigid.

No. god, why did Peter have to be early? Why couldn't he be even just a little bit late.

"I can't…Morgan can you get the door?" Riley yelled at her friend and made a mad dash to her room. "Morgan please I'm not pretty yet!"

"You're always pretty Ry!" Morgan called back but crawled across the floor to the front door. She finagled her way to her feet and threw the lock across, opening the door and expecting to see Peter Stone standing there but in reality, she found none other than Sonny Carisi in the hallway, a giant paper bag clutched in his hands. "Speaking of pretty."

"Uh?" He tipped his head sideways in confusion but Morgan grinned at him, bowing gracefully and waving him in.

"M'lady." Morgan whispered, and followed it up with a giggle. Once he was inside the apartment, she threw the door shut and literally pranced back over to the couch, which is when Riley decided that she was ready enough and appeared out of her bedroom, her eyes narrowing in on the sight of Morgan's partner standing just inside the door.

"She okay?" Sonny asked and Riley sighed in response. She waved him in and let him follow her into the kitchen, where she promptly grabbed a half drank glass of juice off the counter and gulped it down, giving her a few seconds to gather her thoughts.

"She's high as balls." Riley answered, setting the empty glass into the sink. "I lost track of how many pills she took and she slipped an extra one into her mouth. I'm sure she's fine, probably just feeling _real_ good right now."

"Ah." He nodded his understanding and patted the brown bag. "I brought her some food."

"Food." Riley echoed his word and glanced past him at the living room, listening for more thuds from her friend. "Random question, you're not busy right now, are you?"

"No…not particularly."

"Right, so do you maybe want to uh, babysit my friend in there?" Riley asked, desperate for him to say yes.

"Where you going?"

"I have a date. I can cancel if you really don't want to stay with her, I just…I don't know what to do and I don't feel right leaving her."

Morgan came dancing into the kitchen, her eyes landing on Sonny and going wide. He set the bag of food on the counter and motioned towards it. Morgan stepped closer to it, sniffing the air and taking in the scents of home-cooked Italian food.

Riley flopped down into a chair at the kitchen table and ran her hand through her high ponytail, flicking the ends as she watched Morgan cautiously approach the bag as if something might jump out at her.

"I can stick around." Carisi stated, watching as Riley visibly relaxed at his offer.

"Sonny Bunny, what'd you bring me?" Morgan leaned in towards him and poked the bag, giggling as it crinkled under the pressure. "Oooo is it a Bunny of my very own?"

"Chicken parm for starters, some pasta and a dozen cannolis." Sonny answered and Morgan let out an ear-piercing squeal of delight.

"Yum!" Morgan sniffed the air again and poked at the bag. Sonny was quick to open the top of it, pulling out an aluminum take-out tray and setting it on the counter. Morgan then proceeded to poke at it, watching intently as it slid across the corner. "Did ya make it just for lil ole me?"

"I thought you could do with some cheering up."

"Oh Carisi, my mother of dragons, you did well." Morgan bowed to him and turned to face Riley, motioning over her shoulder at her partner and saying, much louder than she was planning, "it's my partner Ry, my Carisi, he brought me munchies."

Riley nodded her head and stood up, moving over to the counter and helping Sonny pull the rest of the stuff out of the brown bag. Morgan watched carefully as her two friends worked in tandem before breaking out into a loud bout of laughter.

"Jesus she's been like this for like an hour already. I can't do it anymore." Riley said softly, not wanting Morgan to hear her. "She's too much."

"Don't worry, I got her." Carisi reassured her and once all the food containers were on the counter, he opened the one containing pasta, Morgan immediately nabbing a sauce-covered noodle with her fingers and slipping it into her mouth. She chewed loudly and gave them both a wide smile, swallowing with a giant moan.

"Carisi, you are the finest chef in the land." Morgan beamed. "Such a lovely, lovely man with such pretty, pretty eyes and a heart made of gold- but not actually gold because then you'd be like the tin man, well I guess gold man…are you a gold man?"

Riley held her breath and waved her hands in the air, then she took off, making her way out of the kitchen, wondering for how much longer Morgan was going to be crazy high. When she made it to the living room though, another knock sounded out in the apartment and she set her sights on letting in the next guest.

Morgan came dashing out of the kitchen and slammed her body into the door, letting out a low 'oof' as she hit. Then she whipped the door open with her arms open wide.

"Hey Rock man!" Morgan giggled and wiggled her hips, Peter Stone staring at the girl as if she had two heads. "Get it, because you're Peter _Stone_."

"He gets it." Riley remarked and grabbed Morgan's arm gently, tugging her backwards and out of the way. "Sorry, she's a little hopped up on painkillers."

"Pebble guy! If I threw you into a lake, would you skip across the water?"

"I got her!" Carisi called and quickly joined them all in the living room. "Go."

"Oh, hang on, I just need to grab my jacket." Riley disappeared into her room and Morgan stared at Stone, looking him up and down.

"You've met my Carisi, he's the mother of dragons don't you know." Morgan stated and ran her hand down Carisi's arm, petting him as she spoke. "Rock man, remember, tonight's the night Ry-pie leaves all her clothes on."

"Are you okay?" Peter questioned, lowering his voice so only Morgan could hear. She tipped her head sideways and nodded.

"Clothes on." Morgan whispered. "Everybody's clothes stay on. Except for mine."

"Is she okay?" Peter turned his attention to Carisi, who offered up a shrug. "Right."

Riley jogged back out of her bedroom and gave Morgan a quick kiss to the side of the head, then she grabbed Peter's hand and pulled him out of the apartment, leaving Morgan all alone with her partner. Morgan flipped the lock once the door was shut and leaned her back against it, letting out a soft sigh of contentment.

"Young love." Morgan smiled. "Don't you just love it?"

"Come on, let's get some food in you yeah?"

"Maybe later, first I want to build a blanket fort." Morgan stated, even going as far as to stomp her foot like a child. "Know something funny."

"No, what?"

"Your name, Carisi, it's like…it's like two words right, car and easy, like a little hot wheels car, easy to play with- Oh I bet you're easy to play with."

"Wow, Riley wasn't wrong when she asked me to babysit."

"Who you calling a baby?" Morgan countered, pushing herself off the door dramatically. "I'm _not_ a baby."

"Okay, you're not a baby."

"Baby blues, like your eyes, so pretty. I feel like I could get lost in them forever and ever." Morgan locked her eyes on his and he went rigid, wondering what she was going to do next.

Her hands came at his face and he flinched but she merely rested her palms against his cheeks and ran her fingers over his face, barely putting any pressure on his skin. Her head cocked sideways and she grinned at him before squishing his cheeks and letting out a cackle of laughter. Carisi held his ground and when she finally let go, she spun on her heels, waving her arms in the air while she moved.

"Come on doll, let's go get some supper."

"Doll." Morgan grinned. "Only if you promise to play with me later Sonny Bunny."

Oh boy, what had he gotten himself into?

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"You've never hit a baseball before?" Peter questioned, looking at Riley as she gripped the bat in her hands, not entirely sure what to do with it seeing as they weren't inside the batting cages just yet. She set the end of it against the hard, concrete floor and used it as a cane.

"I mean I played t-ball when I was five." She offered with a shrug. "But I quit halfway through the season because I was bored."

"Right." Peter shook his head, unsure of how to handle the situation in front of him.

"A girl can only spend so much time watching her teammates putting gravel on their heads and picking dandelions in the outfield." Riley explained. "I was never big on team sports- or well sports in general. I like books."

"Books are good."

Riley smiled at him and tilted her head sideways as he brought the helmet up to her face, waiting for her to take it. She peered down at the bat and held it with only one hand while trying, and failing, to put the helmet on her head with her other hand. When he let out a chuckle, she stopped in her movements and stared at him as if to say 'what do you want me to do'. Peter's grip was gentle and he carefully took hold of the helmet, slipping it over her head, making sure not to catch and fold her ears.

Once it was securely on her head, he gave the top of it a rough pat and she jerked in surprise, reactively throwing her free hand out and slapping him in the arm.

"You didn't happen to read any books on how to hit a baseball?" Peter asked her, hope filling his eyes and she shook her head, the helmet feeling weird on her noggin. "Okay well then, where to start?"

Riley lifted her hand up and pointed towards the empty slot in the batting cages. She moved towards it, Peter trailing behind her and closing the gate behind them once they were inside. Riley placed her feet in the painted box on the ground and slowly lifted the bat up, resting the barrel on her shoulder as she tried to get a feel for how this was supposed to work.

Her playing t-ball was a good twenty-five years in the past and boy was she having a hard time getting a comfortable stance with the bat in her hand. She lifted it off her shoulder a couple of inches and propped her right elbow up before giving a firm nod of her head. Yes, this was going to be her stance, or well, at least the basis for her stance.

"That's…no good."

"I've seen baseball enough times to know that this is perfectly acceptable." Riley countered with a roll of her eyes. He stepped around her and stood behind her. When his hand came to rest on her hip, she tensed and turned her head to glance at him over her shoulder.

"I'm just helping you, is that okay?"

Letting out a breath, she nodded her head once again and turned her attention forward, feeling his hand press against her hip and move it slightly. His foot came between hers and kicked her legs apart, getting her feet in a better position. She looked down at her feet to make a mental note as to where to put them, shoulder width apart, near the back of the batter's box.

"You ever hit any homeruns in the big leagues?" Riley quipped, feeling him move the bat a little further back and off her shoulder. She tried not to resist and let him take charge. "I won't think any less of you if you say no, you were a pitcher after all."

"No home runs." He chuckled.

"Well that's too bad." She shook her head, waiting for him to make the next move. His other hand came to rest on her hip like the first and she felt him twist her hips slightly.

She let out a laugh and wiggled in his hold, his grip getting firmer with each second she opposed his movements. When she was settled down, she let him finagle her body, his hand moving upwards to her ribs and Riley let out an involuntary shudder.

"This might sound like the simplest instruction ever but keep your eye on the ball." Peter stated and she leaned back slightly, forcing his hand up a little higher. He didn't fall for her trick though and grabbed her hips one more time, fixing them yet again.

"Eye on ball." She repeated.

"And follow through on your swing."

"Okay." She affirmed and he stepped away from her, looking her up and down to make sure she was standing in the way that he wanted her too. When he was done confirming that she was ready, he reached out towards the wall and hit the button for the ball release.

She swung at the ball but missed it, a growl escaping her as she did so. Before she had a chance to complain, his hands were back on her body and he was fixing her stance again. Riley simply let him do his thing and when she was prepared, he pushed the button again, this time she just barely tipped the ball, sending it rolling on the ground towards his feet.

"Better." He remarked, hands back on her hips. Riley tightened under his hold and rolled her neck, hoping maybe if she pretended she was confident in what she was doing that it would come naturally. "Try swinging it a little sooner."

He released another ball, she completed another swing and sent the ball just off the end of her bat. It didn't go very far but it was a win in her books. Readying herself for another try, she looked down towards where the balls came from and hoped this time she'd hit it good and hard.

His hands were on her before she had a chance to feel confident in her stance, this time he pressed himself against her back and used his hands to adjust hers on the handle. He positioned her hands down towards the end of the bat, then picked at her fingers until they were just the way he wanted them.

His body remained pressed against her back though as he tilted her arms this way and that, finetuning her arms in order to help her. She felt his palms run down her bare forearms and prod at her wrists, which only caused her to let go with her left hand. When she brought her hand back up, he repeated the process again, picking and prodding at her hand.

God what the hell was he doing? Did he not know what type of person she was, or how much she really enjoyed sex? And on top of it all, she wasn't supposed to take her clothes off yet here he was pressing against her, touching her everywhere and doing nothing but throw off her concentration.

"Just stop." Riley let out a low growl and he immediately backed off, raising his hands in surrender.

"Whoa hey." He called out to her and she turned to face him, her eyes narrowed. "I wasn't trying to get handsy."

"What? No." She shook her head. "Wait, why not?"

"Seriously?" Peter stared at her and she scrunched up her nose in confusion. "I work very closely with-"

"That's what you think this is? I didn't give you consent? Jesus, no." She offered him the bat and turned her back to him, letting her hands fall to her sides in defeat. When she turned back around to face him, he was staring at her, clearly confused. "If I didn't want you to touch me, I would've kicked you in the balls."

"Ok so…then what's going on here?"

"You're so clueless it's adorable." She scoffed. "Dude, you're turning me on."

Peter cocked his head sideways and she let out a soft sigh, "did you just call me dude?"

"That's what you focus on?"

A small smirk spread across his face and she rolled her eyes at him. Without saying anything about it to her, he handed her back the bat and motioned towards the box with his hand. Riley reluctantly grabbed hold of it and did as she was silently instructed, daringly turning her back towards him yet again.

"Your roommate informed me that this was a 'clothes stay on' situation." Peter remarked and grabbed at her hips again.

"Yeah and she was high as fuck." Riley snipped. "So she won't even know if I don't follow through with that."

"I'd know."

"Well aren't you noble." She snorted.

He backed away from her and watched, pressing for the ball to release. Riley watched it coming at her and took a mighty swing at the ball, just getting contact with the bat and sending it flying back towards the end of the cage. She let out a whoop and readied herself for the next pitch, which came at her quickly.

Her bat connected with the ball again and sent it flying down towards the end of the cage. Readying herself again, Riley waited and sent yet another ball flying back down to the end of the cage, a squeal of excitement coming out of her mouth.

Before she had a chance to ready herself again, a fourth ball flew over the plate and she immediately turned on her heels, glaring at Peter who was looking rather smug behind her.

"You keep hitting them like that and you're going to get a big head." He remarked and pushed the button for another ball but Riley merely jumped back and got closer to him, offering him up the bat.

"Then we can match." She shot back at him and moved to take over his job while he took up a stance at the plate. She watched him flip the bat in his hands before lifting it up and over his shoulder, readying himself to swing. When he was standing firm and ready to go, she released a ball for him and kept her eyes locked on his form, taking in the sight of his muscled arms moving to smoke the ball back down the cage.

She released another ball and got the same reaction from Peter, her eyes watching him carefully as he launched yet another one down the cage. She cocked her head sideways, pressed the button one more time and hopped away from the release mechanism, instead reaching out to smack him in the butt, causing him to swing awkwardly and completely miss the third ball.

The bat dropped to the ground as he let go of it and Peter pivoted on his feet, setting his sights on her and lunging in her direction. Riley let out a squeal as his arms wrapped around her waist and he hauled her against him, pinning her between him and the wall.

"You don't play fair." He murmured, leaning in so that there were just a few inches between their faces.

"Never said I did." She beamed back at him and stared at him, waiting for him to kiss her. When he was close enough, she closed her eyes and waited, but felt nothing, not a thing, instead, she heard him laughing softly and then his chin met her shoulder, his lips kissing her neck. "Fuck off, now who's not playing fair?"

He let go of her and backed away, grinning the entire time. Crouching down, he grabbed the bat, readied himself at the plate and Riley hit the button once, then twice, three times in quick succession sending too many balls at once for him. She shrieked with amusement behind him but he shook his head and tried desperately to hit the balls coming at him.

After about a minute of her releasing balls in quick succession, he finally gave up and turned away from the plate, meeting her eyes and catching the sparkle there. Her lips curled up into a grin and she pushed the release one more time before he nabbed her hand and offered her the bat.

"Your turn again."

"Okay." She smiled, taking the bat from him, but he didn't let go. Without much of a warning, he was kissing her though and she let go of the bat, hearing a faint thud as it fell to the ground between them.

She was really starting to like this guy and for the first time in a long time Riley hoped that she'd get to keep seeing him.

Pulling away, she set her hands against his chest and sucked in a deep breath, "you think we can call it a day with the batting thing, maybe go grab a burger?"

"Sounds good to me. Then I should get you home, I hear your roommate is pretty out of it."

Riley dropped her head down against his shoulder and sighed, "I really, really wish I could go home with you again."

"I take rain checks."

She tipped her head back and let out a chuckle, reluctantly peeling herself away from him and making a move to step out of the batting cages. She reached back for him and took a hold of his hand, wondering what the hell Peter Stone was doing to her?

And why wasn't she fighting it?

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Morgan had the couch cushions pulled off the couch and set up in the middle of the living room as a fort, a blanket draped over it holding it all together in a lump. She was lying on the floor with her head poking out from under it and Carisi was standing over her, looking down at her and wondering where it had all gone wrong.

She had eaten some dinner without much of a fight, even downed a cannoli before skipping, literally, out into the living room and flopping onto the couch. He had followed her, wondering what sort of trouble she'd be getting in to but Morgan had sat quietly for a good twenty minutes staring at the television screen, which was blank because the damn thing was turned off.

Abruptly, she had turned her attention towards him, grinned and leaned in to lick the side of his face. Yeah, that had been interesting but when she had announced that he tasted good, Sonny couldn't help but feel like maybe this girl was someone who could be more than just a friend.

Morgan was a strong woman, she was smart and he would never deny that she was beautiful, so why hadn't he thought much more about her until she had licked him. Well in all fairness, she had jumped off the couch and had taken off running into her bedroom, not giving him much time to consider it at that point in time either.

When she came back out carrying a blanket, he knew he was in for it. Half an hour later and here he was, looking down at her as she stared up at him with wide, wonder-filled eyes. God she was pretty.

"You ever built a fort with Rollins?" Morgan questioned, her voice almost sounding normal, but when she giggled after a second, he knew she was still flying high on her painkillers. "I bet…I bet she's no fun."

"She's got two kids, they're pretty fun."

"Hmm yeah but you're not their daddio." Morgan hummed and rolled onto her side but remaining inside the little fort she had built around herself. "I mean, you would be a good daddy…oh daddy Carisi."

"Mo-"

"You'd be the good kind of daddy, the one who actually changes diapers and tucks his babies in to bed- do you do that for Rollins?" Morgan pressed and suddenly she was out of her fort, kneeling in front of him as she looked up at him like a child. "You know she's just leading you on."

"What Rollins and I are- it's complicated."

"Not to me, I see it, right, because I've got eyes, two of them to be exact. I see everything with my two eyes, sometimes it feels like I even have an extra one in the back of my head, but it's not actually an eye, it's just a little bump from when I was a kid." Morgan carried on. "Rollins doesn't have three eyes."

"Morgan, what are you talking about?"

"She doesn't see you like I do. God she's just a Carisi user, you know what I mean. You're a good mother of dragons, you don't deserve to be strung along…is that a word, strung, it sounds funny. Strung. _Strung._ Doesn't sound real to me-"

"She's not stringing me along."

"Who's not stringing- strung- string-a-linging you along?" Morgan tipped her head and leaned sideways, flipping her legs out sideways and stumbling to her feet, falling towards Sonny as she stood up. He extended his arms out and she latched on, giving him a goofy smile before tearing herself away from him and wandering over to the couch without cushions.

Her butt thudded against it as she flopped down and she patted the space next to her. Carisi paused and went to grab one of the cushions but as soon as he made a move to touch her blanket fort, she growled at him, and then proceeded to bark in his direction.

His hands raised up in an act of surrender and he quickly moved to sit on the couch beside her, holding his hand between them and offering it to her to hold. Morgan lifted her own hand up and used her index finger to run over his palm, then down each finger, muttering to herself as she moved.

"What are you doing?" Carisi asked and she stopped muttering, lifting her head to meet his eyes and smirking.

"This little piggy went to market." She stated and trailed her fingertip along the inside of his index finger. "This little piggy stayed-"

"I think I like you better when you were in the fort." Carisi cut her off but he gave her a little smile.

"I liked me better in the fort too." She giggled and leaned forward, pressing her nose against the palm of his hand. "Can you feel my thoughts?"

He couldn't help but laugh at her and shook his head as she brought her eyes up to meet his. She remained silent, studying his eyes and he didn't dare look away from her for fear that he might break the spell she was casting on him. God her eyes were like pools of water he could get lost in and her lips were tempting him to kiss her.

No, not in this state, not when she was barely coherent. She scooted on the couch and squished herself against him, letting her head fall gently onto his shoulder. When she let out a yawn, he silently thanked god because it was about damn time that she lost some of her steam. Maybe now she'd fall asleep and he would have some time to gather his thoughts without worrying about what was going to come out of her mouth next.

"I should've castrated Bitey McBite-face." Morgan admitted and Carisi slipped his arm around her shoulders, hugging her against him. "He deserves it you know?"

"I'm not disagreeing with you Mo."

"Mo." She repeated her name and lifted her leg up and over his knee, draping it just so. "Sonny Bunny, you're a good partner."

"Yeah." He let out a sigh and she gave his knee a rough pat.

"You are!" She shrieked, scaring him slightly, causing him to jump in surprise. "You always have my back, well not literally because then I'd be like a lump of skin and I wouldn't be able to walk, but fugitively."

"Figuratively."

"That's what I said." Morgan countered. "Fugitively. Anyways, where was I going?"

"I don't know." Carisi shook his head with a smile, very amused by how random her tangents seemed to be getting. She relaxed against him and he held her tighter, calming down himself when her one hand came up to rest against his chest, directly over his heart. "You're a good partner too."

"Nah." Morgan snorted. "I made you mad."

"What? No-"

"I got hurt, you got mad. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself, but you got mad. I mean, I was scared a bit sure but I had it. I was looking for you, before I thumbed him in the eye, which was super gross and squishy, like a scoop of ice cream but not as cold." Morgan said. "Or maybe more like Jell-O, yeah, Jell-O, oh I love Jell-O. Like Jell-O, how are you, nice to not see you because I stuck my finger in your eye asshole."

"Hey what do you say to just a little bit of quiet time?" Carisi suggested. Morgan leaned back slightly and looked at him.

"Just I got one more thing to say then I'll be quiet." She seemed to be struggling with whatever it was she wanted to say, his hand beginning to run up and down her back in an attempt to calm her. "I…sometimes…I think your eyes are sooooo pretty, you know, it's like staring into a bright blue sky and I could just get lost in them forever."

He stifled a laugh and leaned his head down, pressing a kiss against her temple. She let out a yawn and curled up against him, enjoying the feeling of someone there with her, even if it was her partner. He'd never look at her as anything more than a friend, he was too interested in Rollins, but maybe one day Morgan would be okay with that.

Maybe one day Carisi would be able to figure out what he felt for Morgan because the more time he spent with her, the more unsure he was about them being _just_ friends. For now though, he'd let her snuggle up against him because he didn't know when, or if, he'd ever get the chance to cuddle with Morgan again.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Favourite colour?" Peter asked as he sat across from Riley at the table in the diner that they had wandered in to. She had a burger and fries in front of her and he had the same, except his burger had two patties instead of just one. An orange soda filled her glass while he stuck with Coke.

"Purple." She answered, popping a fry into her mouth.

"Blue."

"Favourite baseball team that's not the Yankees?" Riley quipped, staring at him. He let out a laugh at the added specification on the end of her question but smiled at her.

"Who says the Yankees are my favourite baseball team?" Peter countered and she shook her head.

"We can't be friends if they're not."

"Well then I guess we're going to have to reconsider our friendship."

"Your favourite team is _not_ the Yankees, that's just not right."

"I spent a lot of time in Chicago."

"Apparently not enough to realize how badly the Chicago MLB teams suck." She retorted. "Seriously, Yankees or bust."

"What about the Mets?"

"I'd like to pretend they don't even exist and frankly, they play like shit, like really bad shit."

"Okay." He set his palm against the table. "My favourite baseball team that's not the Yankees is the Dodgers. Is that acceptable?"

"I guess. I would've also accepted the Red Sox but I might be biased."

"Why?"

"I spent a few years in Massachusetts when I was in University." Riley answered as though it was the simplest answer in the world. "I went to M.I.T., it was like the only time Morgan and I were split up."

"You went to M.I.T.?"

"Yeah. For engineering." She offered with a shrug, reaching her hand out towards his and poking at his fingers. "Graduated with honours."

"Smart and beautiful." Peter remarked, continuing to smile at her. She blushed a little bit at his words but didn't look away. "So what do you do now?"

"I work for a structural engineering company."

"That's impressive."

"Pfft, I don't do it to impress people, I do it because I like it. Math was always one of my favourite subjects and when high school was over, I didn't know what I wanted to do, I just knew that math was what I wanted to be doing."

"Very different from law." Peter said, in awe of her and her accomplishments.

"So yeah, I went to M.I.T., while I was there I went to a lot of Red Sox games, even worked at one of the concession stands over the summer."

She wasn't going to admit it out loud but this dinner thing was starting to feel nice. She hadn't gotten to know someone like this in a long time and she was even starting to like the idea of someone getting to know her. Hell, the one person in her life that she told things to was at home high as a kite, and other than Morgan, and her own mother, there weren't too many people she felt comfortable enough to open up to.

Peter Stone was different. He definitely didn't judge her, even if she had already been super forward with him. And it wasn't like he was with her just to sleep with her because he already _had_ slept with her, more than once. He was a nice guy, smart, funny, definitely her type, and Riley couldn't help but want to continue to get to know him.

"Any siblings?" Peter asked, carrying on with their game.

"Nope." Riley shook her head, her mind drifting to Morgan, who was the closest thing she had to a sibling, and thank god for that.

"I had a sister." Peter said softly, his voice laced with a hint of sadness. "She uh…she passed away a few months ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." She murmured and set her hand on top of his, trying to comfort him as best as she could.

"On a lighter note, I'd like to point out that the last person I saw drinking orange soda was a toddler, so there's that."

Riley snorted at him and pulled her hand away, slapping his as she did so, "whatever, it's good. Sorry I'm not super mature like you."

"You think I'm super mature?" He stared at her, a smug look on his face.

"Oh definitely. You wear suits to work, that's the very definition of mature, and also the very definition of attractive, at least in my book."

He let out another laugh but she was stone cold serious. God where had he found this woman and why hadn't he run into her sooner? She was best friends with one of the detectives that he worked closely with so it wasn't too much to ask but part of him felt like maybe she was worth getting to know and keeping around for a long time to come. It had been an awfully long time since a woman had made him laugh as much as Riley did.

"I'm quite fond of the way you dress too."

"Yeah, with my 'fuck me' heels. Sorry, I seriously thought about wearing them tonight but I didn't want to break my ankle." She teased. "Next date though."

"There's going to be a next date?" He teased right back and she rolled her eyes at his coyness.

"Yeah, hey maybe you can ask me this time?" She fired back.

"Riley, would you care to go out with me again?"

She playfully kicked his leg under the table and grabbed another fry, throwing it at him and letting out a laugh. He grabbed the very same fry she threw and tossed it back at her, smiling widely as it hit her in the face and fell to the table.

"Pick somewhere I can wear my nice clothes Peter." She laughed. "I like getting all dolled up, especially for you."

"It's really too bad you're not allowed to take your clothes off tonight."

"Ha, yeah, don't I know it."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Carisi peered down at the sleeping form next to him and let out a soft sigh. This girl was going to drive him crazy, not for the rest of the night though, just in general. Right now she was sound asleep curled up against his side, the two of them lying on her bed, which he had carried her into a good hour ago.

Now he was just waiting for Riley to get home so that he could leave before he said, or did, something he might regret. Morgan Loughton was growing on him, in a romantic interest sort of way. She was a good woman to have a crush on, the total package in his mind, but there was something wedged between them, something with the name of Amanda Rollins.

Was Morgan right when it came to Rollins? Did Amanda lead him on and use him? Or was Carisi a willing participant because that's just what friends do?

He had been thinking about it since she had fallen asleep though. It's not like he went over to Fin's house, or Liv's house, to cook dinner for them and their families. He didn't try to talk to them and comfort them after a rough day on the job. So if him and Rollins were _just_ friends, why did he treat her so differently than the rest of his friends?

"No more." Morgan mumbled in her sleep and gripped his shirt tighter in her hands. She was pressed as tight against him as she possibly could be but Carisi wasn't going to complain. He never got to see this side of Morgan and he liked that she wanted him near her.

He had been terrified that night she had been attacked and it wasn't that he didn't think she could handle herself; it was that he had felt as if he had failed her by not protecting her. There was something really difficult to him about explaining that to her and maybe he'd try soon but not when she was high, and not when she was licking him.

Carisi tensed ever so slightly when he heard the door to their apartment open, but when Riley's voice called out that it was 'just me', he relaxed back into the pillows and glanced over to Morgan, who was none the wiser about her roommate being home.

"Where are you guys?" Riley called out and Sonny wasn't entirely sure he wanted to yell back in response. He stayed silent so as not to disturb the sleeping Morgan next to him and within a couple of minutes Riley appeared in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe and staring at him.

He looked right back at her and when she smirked, he rolled his eyes. It definitely wasn't what it looked like, but he wasn't about to defend himself, no, he was going to stay as quiet as he could so that he didn't wake up Morgan.

Riley crossed her arms over her chest and looked from Morgan to Sonny, her smirk growing. Sure, they were both still in their clothes and it was obvious nothing had happened aside from the two of them hanging out but Riley's look suggested she figured _something_ had happened. Maybe it had. Sonny wasn't sure he was ready to leave Morgan just yet, but he knew that Riley being home was his cue to get back to his own place.

"You know she sleeps like the dead, don't you?" Riley stated, her voice at a normal decibel. "You could literally talk right into her ear and she wouldn't wake up."

"Yeah well, I don't want to chance it."

"Suit yourself. You two have fun? I see you made a fort in the living room out of my couch cushions, which I assume was her idea."

"Who was I to stop her?" Carisi joked back and Riley shook her head.

"She eat dinner?"

"I made sure she was fed."

"Good, thanks. You're not so bad at this 'looking after Morgan' thing." Riley jeered.

"Contrary to popular belief, I have babysat before, I've got nieces."

Riley nodded her understanding and stole another look around the bedroom, taking in the sight of her roommate and best friend. She seemed peaceful, and the fact that she was sleeping so soundly before Riley had a chance to get home suggested that the poor girl had been way more tired than anyone could've thought.

It was a first for Riley. She had never not come home to a waiting Morgan, but it made sense. The poor girl was still recovering from some pretty serious injuries, and had taken more than the recommended dose of medication to boot.

She certainly wasn't going to take it personally that Morgan had fallen asleep while she had been out on a date, an amazing date nonetheless.

"Well, you can head out if you want, I'm just going to put my living room back together and head to bed. Thanks for watching her for me- my god, I make her sound like a baby." Riley pushed herself off the doorframe, shot a wave to Carisi and headed back into the living room.

Carisi could hear her putting the couch back together but he didn't want to move just yet. Morgan was too comfortable and, he'd never admit it out loud, but so was he. He wanted to stay like this for as long as he could, he wanted to bask in the feeling of her hands on his chest and her body next to his.

He had a lot of thinking to do when he got home, and frankly, he wasn't ready to do that just yet; he wanted to spend a little longer in a state of ignorant bliss.

Riley appeared back in the doorway where she paused but wandered into the room anyway, setting the folded blanket from the fort onto the end of Morgan's bed. She threw another smile in Carisi's direction but left without a word.

He turned his head sideways and looked at the clock, which read just after eleven. Making a move to leave, he felt Morgan's grip on him tighten and she snuggled in closer to him, if that was even possible.

"No moving." She mumbled, clearly still asleep. Carisi let out a soft chuckle, kissed the top of her head and relaxed into her bed.

For right now he was going to do what Morgan said and wasn't going to move.


	5. Chapter 5

It was the smell of bacon wafting through the apartment that finally woke Morgan up and boy was she surprised when she felt a body next to hers. She didn't open her eyes right away, instead, she struggled to remember what the hell had happened the night before.

Vaguely she could piece together a few things: there was a nice dinner that she hadn't cooked, but had Riley? Nope, she didn't think so, in fact, Riley wasn't popping up into her memories at all, so where had Riley- oh god, she had been on a date with Stone, or Rock Man as Morgan could recall naming him.

Well that was embarrassing, but it didn't explain the body next to hers, unless it was Riley. No, no Riley wasn't as big, or firm, so who was…oh Jesus no. What the hell had she done last night, and why was she lying next to someone who wasn't Riley?

A fort! Yes she could remember a fort in the living room but someone had been with her, someone she trusted and whom Riley trusted to stay with her because she had- because why? Why would Riley have to leave her with someone, unless she wasn't totally herself, but what…what had happened the day before to cause her to need someone to stay with her?

Another memory popped into her head and she could recall naming someone the Mother of Dragons- oh shit no, no. No way, god, what…what the hell had she done? It wasn't Khaleesi, no, she had spent the night with Carisi, her very own partner who she had a very real crush on.

Her eyes popped open and she stared at Sonny's face, taking in the smirk toying on his lips and the bright blue of his eyes, which she could maybe recall mentioning were pretty.

"Morning sleeping beauty." He remarked and she snorted in response, burying her head into his arm and hiding from his gaze. "You snore, you know that?"

"Do not." Morgan muttered and reluctantly began peeling herself away from him. They were partners, friends, there was no way she should've ended up cuddling against him in her bed, no matter what was wrong with her.

"You feel better today?"

"Uh…" She trained off and slowly sat up, running her hand across her sore ribs and wincing. That might've been it, she could remember her injuries hurting really bad the day before so she had tried to sneak another painkiller, but surely Riley would've stopped her, Riley paid attention to things like that.

But Riley also was a human being and had to use the bathroom, so maybe it wasn't so unlikely after all. She wasn't sure she wanted to know but part of her figured she _had_ to. There must be a sane explanation to all this, right?

"You were pretty out of it yesterday." Carisi pointed out and Morgan ran her hands through her hair, sucking in a breath and preparing herself to ask questions she didn't necessarily want to know the answers too.

"What…what happened?"

"You took an extra pain pill."

"Right." She nodded, not sure what to ask next but she had to know, there was a reason why Carisi was even here in the apartment to start with- did that have something to do with her. "Why are you here again?"

"I came to drop off food."

"Parm." She replied. "Right?"

"Among other things."

"So why are you _still_ here?" She pressed.

"You didn't want me to go." He answered with a chuckle. "Wouldn't let go of me."

She let out a low whistle, "did I do anything stupid….or embarrassing?"

"You made a blanket fort." He answered with a small shrug. "Honestly Mo, you weren't making a whole lot of sense last night."

"I called Stone Rock man." She stated but looked at him, wanting him to confirm her suspicion.

"You did. He was worried about you, asked if you were okay."

Morgan shook her head and swung her legs over the side of the bed. At the very least, she was still fully clothed, so it wasn't like anything too terrible could've happened between them, right? Slowly but surely she made her way to her feet and stretched her arms into the air, feeling her stiff body fight against her actions.

When she let her arms drop, she turned around and noticed that Sonny was standing on the other side of her bed, his phone in his hand and his attention not on her. Thank god. She needed a second to gather herself together without his piercing blue eyes- oh god, she had talked about his eyes, his pretty eyes.

Jesus Christ, why hadn't he mentioned that when she asked about embarrassing herself? Oh well, if he was going to pretend she wasn't a total idiot the night before, then she would let him. She didn't need to relive anything.

"You staying for breakfast?" Morgan quipped and pointed towards the door of her bedroom.

"I don't know Mo."

"Oh come on Sonny, you brought me dinner, at least let me give you some breakfast. It seems like a fair trade to me."

He seemed reluctant but after a few seconds of consideration, he motioned for her to lead the way, which Morgan gladly did, walking into the kitchen to a fully dressed Riley who was clearly more prepared for the day than she was.

"Oh hey there sleepyhead!" Riley chirped and Morgan dropped down into a chair at the table with a groan. Too chipper, too awake at this hour- wait, what hour was it exactly?

"What time is it?"

"Little after nine."

"You were out pretty early last night." Sonny threw in, gingerly lowering himself into the other chair at the table. "I guess building forts takes a lot out of you Mo."

She leveled him with a glare but couldn't hold it for very long. Okay, maybe she deserved that one, after all, from what she could remember of the fort, it had been a pretty good one, though she couldn't remember him being in it with her, in fact, she couldn't remember being inside it completely either. Maybe it wasn't quite as big as she was picturing in her mind.

"I made you two breakfast." Riley announced, breaking the slight tension that seemed to have fallen over them. "Bacon and French toast."

"Perfect." Morgan whispered. "My favourite."

"Anyways, you two enjoy, I'm heading out so you'll be _all_ alone together-"

"Wait, where are you going?" Morgan cut in, desperate to know where her friend was going and why it was so important that she would leave her alone with Carisi this early in the morning.

"We need groceries."

"Okay but you need to tell me about your date last night first." Morgan pressed, wanting nothing more than to keep Riley with her for just a little bit longer.

"Successfully kept my clothes on." She grinned.

"Really?"

"Sure did."

"Huh, okay, so check that one off." Morgan gave herself a nod. "I guess we can move you on to the next round."

Riley continued to grin at her friend and waited patiently for her to gather herself enough to give her stipulation number four. She had already breezed through the first three, surely she could do the last two with just as much ease, plus she definitely liked spending time with Peter Stone. After last night, she was actually looking forward to going out with him again and maybe she'd leave her clothes on again for the hell of it- okay, who was she kidding, if she hadn't been told to keep her clothes on last night, she would've jumped at the chance to go home with him.

"What are you two talking about?" Carisi piped up, looking between the two girls, confusion evident on his face. "Next round of what- oh wait, is this that thing you were telling me about before?"

Riley's eyes widened ever so slightly, unaware that Morgan had already mentioned anything about their bet to Carisi. The longer she thought about it, the more it made sense though. She spent a lot of time with Carisi, the two of them were partners and it wasn't like she had too many other people to talk to Riley about, so why not Carisi? But how much of it did she mention to him, did he know what Morgan was supposed to do once Riley won?

Surely she would've left that part out; she wouldn't want to have to explain to the man she worked with that if her roommate completed five stipulations, she'd then have to tell him that she liked him.

"You know about it?" Riley retorted. "You know that she dared me that I couldn't do five things with one guy?"

"She told me about it, yeah."

"Okay well I guess maybe you might not know that I can't say no to a dare, I don't do losing and Morgan knows that."

"And you've already made it to number four?" Carisi cocked his head at her and Riley nodded her head yes. "Seems pretty quick to me."

"Pfft, I'm that good, so yeah I did it." Riley snorted.

"She absolutely did." Morgan threw in, thankful that Riley was a little quicker to think things up than she was. "Quick refresher for you Sonny Bunny: first one was to sleep with a guy for a second time."

"Easy peasy." Riley beamed. "God I'm good at getting men to bed- wait, that didn't sound very good on my part."

"It's okay, Sonny here knows your kind of easy."

"I…hey!" Riley shot back, glaring at Morgan who merely smiled in response.

"Anyways, then the second thing was to actually go on a date with a guy." Morgan carried on, not even bothering to dignify Riley's protest with any sort of response.

"Hence the Yankees game with your ADA." Riley tossed out. "By the way Carisi, Yankees or Mets?"

"Definitely Yankees." Sonny nodded. "The Mets suck."

"Oh I like you." Riley smiled.

"Gross you two." Morgan shook her head but brought the conversation back to the topic at hand. "Number three was to go on a date but her clothes had to stay on."

"Batting cages last night. Which they did by the way, even though it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do." Riley remarked.

"And now you're on number four." Carisi stated, taking another look between the girls. "Which is what again? You'll forgive me if I don't remember _all_ the details."

"She has to bring a guy back here." Morgan filled in.

"Which might sound easy but I don't bring guys home." Riley pointed out. "What's that saying 'don't shit where you eat', yeah it's like that, but with sex instead of food, wait no…that's…point is, guys don't really get to know where I live."

"There's never been a guy in this apartment that Riley's brought home." Morgan cut him off. "Ever. I can attest to that."

"Well enough about me." Riley held her hands up and backed away from them, moving out of the kitchen. "I'm off to get groceries so you two have fun, though maybe not as much fun as last night; I don't want to have to put the living room together again."

Morgan laughed at her roommate's words and even Carisi let out a chuckle too. Riley quickly disappeared from the kitchen completely and Morgan listened for the door to shut. Once she knew she was all alone with Carisi, she sucked in a nervous breath and looked at him across the table.

"Thanks for last night." Morgan said sincerely. "I know you didn't have to stay with me but it was nice, at least, I think it was- I hope it was."

"Mo, we're more than partners." He countered and she held her breath, waiting for him to go on. Was this where he confessed that he felt the same about her as she did about him? "We're friends too and that's what friends do."

Oh. Well that was a metaphorical kick in the gut.

Morgan merely nodded her head, made her way to her feet and started to get herself a plate of breakfast, all the while pondering what more she had done, or said, the night before; and praying that it hadn't damaged their partnership too much.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Morgan wasn't surprised that Sonny had offered to hang out with her for the day, even going as far as suggesting they go out for lunch, but she was surprised at how not like himself he seemed to be. He was calling her doll every time she turned around and for some reason, she didn't feel like he was joking when he did so.

When he had asked her if she minded if he ran home to get showered and changed, she had offered to go with him without thinking. So while he had hopped in the shower, Morgan had taken up residence on his couch and found herself wondering if he'd ever made a fort out of it like she had with her own the night before.

Surprisingly he hadn't taken very long in the shower, just long enough for Morgan to have a riveting text message conversation with her roommate, who had arrived home to find her and Carisi both gone, not that she was worried about Sonny, but after her behaviour the night before, Riley had wanted to make sure Morgan was coherent enough to make proper adult decisions.

Her shocked face emoji when Morgan had mentioned being at Sonny's apartment had warranted a laugh from Morgan, who merely texted back that it was innocent and he was just getting cleaned up.

He was wearing a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, not his usual work suit, which Morgan loved to see him in. This look was good too though, suggesting he was a person outside of work just like she was and maybe he liked comfortable clothes and not just suits.

Now though, they were walking side by side from his place, to a nearby diner that he swore had the best stuffed ravioli in all of New York. Morgan didn't really care about ravioli; she just liked the fact that she was currently spending her day with her partner and they weren't even on the clock.

"I swear, the woman who owns this place has the best Italian food this side of the border." Sonny stated, breaking into her thoughts. She tucked her hands into the pockets on her jacket and nodded her head, signaling that she was listening.

She didn't really have much to say though because it's not like she usually ate a lot of really good Italian food and even if she did, it's not like she was part of an authentic Italian family to compare it too. She just liked food as long as it was good and not gross.

"Did you not have other plans today?" Morgan asked, slowing their pace as they approached the very diner Carisi was talking about. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're hanging out, I just thought a guy like you would have better things to do, and while we're on the topic, why didn't you have anything better to do last night either? You were my freaking babysitter."

"I distinctly remember you claiming you were _not_ a baby." Carisi teased and Morgan groaned at the embarrassing statement. "It's no big deal, your roommate looked like she was ready to break down and cry and plus it was definitely fun. I've never seen a more impressive couch fort than yours."

"That's because I live with a structural engineer." Morgan laughed.

He stepped ahead of her and grabbed the door to the diner, holding it open for her and letting her walk in. She took a look around the place and noticed a few guys sitting at tables that fit the Italian stereotype perfectly. Hell, even the older lady behind the counter greeted them with the heaviest Italian accent Morgan had ever heard.

What really surprised her though was the sight of Amanda Rollins standing at the take-out counter, waiting for food of her own.

"Hey Rollins!" Morgan called out and moved closer to the woman, smiling at her fellow SVU member.

"Hey Lou." Rollins replied, calling her by the nickname that a bunch of people in the precinct had adopted for her. "What are you doing all the way out here."

"Carisi brought me, he's apparently treating me to an authentic Italian lunch." Morgan smiled, watching as the older woman's face fell. She seemed to look past Morgan and locked her eyes on the very man in question, the tiniest hint of a glare toying on her face.

"Well that's funny because the last I heard, he and I were supposed to have plans today." Rollins stated, waiting for Sonny to join them. When he did, Morgan could feel the tension building but she had no idea he had made previous plans with Rollins, in fact, had she known, she would have insisted on not going out for lunch with him and staying home with Riley instead.

Yet here they were and Morgan was starting to feel like she was caught in the middle of some awkward lover's quarrel.

"I didn't figure you'd be here." Sonny said, his voice no longer as jovial as it had been when he was outside with Morgan.

"Obviously." Rollins scoffed and laid her eyes on Morgan once again. "So this is the reason you cancelled on me then?"

"Hey look, I didn't know-"

"I'm sure you didn't." Rollins broke in, silencing Morgan. "You're new to SVU, you'd do well to remember that."

Morgan opened her mouth to respond but found that she had no words for the woman in front of her. What the hell was up her butt? It wasn't like she had planned on making Sonny cancel his plans with her, and she certainly didn't want to get in between Carisi and Rollins, who had a complicated relationship at the best of times.

What could she say to this woman, it was very clear by the glare on her face that she wasn't pleased with the situation in front of her. Morgan couldn't really blame her, the idea of being ditched for someone else, another woman for that matter, would piss her off too.

"Rollins look-" Carisi started but the older blonde lifted her hand up, cutting him off.

"No, save it. I can see where your priorities are and I guess I'm no longer one of them."

"Hey now, we were just getting lunch." Morgan piped up, finally figuring she had something to add.

"That's how it starts." Rollins muttered. "You don't think we've heard the rumours about you two, how well you work together, for god's sake Lou, you call him Sonny Bunny in front of people."

"That's a joke." Morgan barked back. Yeah, sure she liked the guy but in her mind that was a secret only Riley knew about. What did Rollins have against her and why was she being so mean to her face now? It wasn't like Morgan deliberately stole Sonny from their plans and then paraded him in front of her, it was purely coincidence to her. "I'm sorry that he cancelled on you, in fact, you can have him. I'll make my own way home."

"Good." Rollins snipped and Morgan shook her head, turning her body away from the blonde and getting ready to leave. She wasn't going to put herself in the middle, she didn't care to be a problem for either person and if Rollins was going to put up this much of a fight for Carisi's attention, then she could have him.

Except Carisi reached out and gently grabbed her arm, holding her in place. Morgan glanced over her shoulder and looked at Carisi, who was staring at Rollins with a determined look on his face.

"I promised Mo here the best ravioli in town and you're not going to stop that from happening." Carisi stated, his voice calm but firm. Rollins looked a little confused and Morgan wondered if the man between them had ever spoken to the older woman like that before. She highly doubted it, Amanda Rollins didn't seem like the type of person to take that kind of crap from anyone, especially not Carisi, who she was clearly leading on day after day.

"Really?" Rollins looked taken aback but Morgan gave a tug and freed her arm from Sonny's grasp. She didn't move though; she was quite interested to see where this went. "You're going to pick her…over me?"

"Seriously I can leave." Morgan murmured and brought her arms up, crossing them over her chest in a lame attempt to protect herself from whatever was coming. She figured maybe Carisi would give in and let her go but he seemed to be standing his ground, huh, sort of weird, but hey, maybe since he had woken up in her bed, things for him were shifting.

Maybe he was starting to see Rollins for what she really was.

"No, you're good. I'll see you around Rollins." Carisi announced and motioned for Morgan to follow him.

He led the way over to a booth in the back corner and once he was seated, he looked back at where Amanda was standing, watching as she gathered her take-out order and left the diner with a bit of a stick up her ass. Morgan awkwardly sat down across from him and slipped out of her jacket, trying desperately to move away from the weird, uncomfortable feeling that was surging through her body.

She still had to work with Rollins, so maybe when she was finally cleared to go back to work, she'd talk to the older woman, or better yet, maybe she'd get Carisi to do it. God, she hated awkward confrontation, especially when it came to co-workers.

"Am I going to have to transfer again?" Morgan quipped, trying to lighten the mood but Carisi's eyes were locked on the door that Rollins had recently walked out of.

"What?" He peeled his gaze away and finally met Morgan's, forcing a smile onto his face in a terrible attempt to reassure her that everything was fine.

"I don't want Rollins to hate me."

"She doesn't hate you."

"She might. I mean, it was clear to me from day one that she was using you-"

"Yeah well, she doesn't own me." Carisi spat, angrier at the whole confrontation. Morgan pressed her lips together but didn't say a word.

All she really wanted to do was go back to the not-so-serious guy that he had been outside, where they were having fun just hanging out and being friends.

"If it would help, I'd try to get Riley to sleep with her." Morgan forced an awkward laugh out but it was more pathetic than anything. It didn't matter though, Sonny's face seemed to relax ever so slightly and he let out a genuine chuckle.

"Isn't Riley a little preoccupied with our ADA?"

"I mean yeah." Morgan nodded.

"And doesn't she like men?"

"Usually but I'm sure if I told her it was for a good cause; she'd be willing to give it a try." Morgan carried on, this time the laugh that erupted wasn't forced or pathetic, it was genuine. "She'd pretty much do anything for me."

"I bet a lot of people would." Carisi remarked. "Maybe I'm one of them. Maybe you were right before. Rollins and I- it's weird right?"

"A little. You go over there and help her with her kids, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"But you don't help Liv with Noah." She stated and Carisi shook his head no. "I get that you want to help her out and maybe it's because you like her, I'm not going to judge, but it's obvious to pretty much anyone that she's not interested Sonny."

"I think I'm starting to get that."

"You deserve someone who will love you back."

Maybe one day, after Riley won the bet and she had to confess to the man in front of her that she liked him, Morgan could be that person.

She sent a silent prayer to the heavens above that it would work out for her and her Sonny Bunny.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley hadn't managed to complete stipulation four, not for a couple of weeks anyways because Morgan hadn't been cleared to return to work quite as quickly as she had been hoping. Frankly there was no way that Morgan was going to be _in_ the apartment when she invited Peter Stone over because she didn't want Morgan to hear anything, nor did she really want to subject him to Morgan any more than she had to.

That didn't mean they hadn't been in contact though. Riley texted him on an almost daily basis and they were supposed to go out to dinner in the next few days, just as soon as he had a free evening. His caseload was overwhelmingly large and Riley knew that he was a career man. It was fine for her because she didn't want him to put her before his work, she was the same way.

So texting and calling had been their only means of contact for a couple of weeks. Not that she'd admit it to anyone out loud but she was definitely starting to miss Peter, and, of course, _sex_ with Peter.

Since Morgan was back to work though, and she had a day off without Morgan lingering in the apartment, Riley figured now was as good a time as any to make an attempt at crossing 'bring a guy home' off Morgan's list.

It hadn't been all that hard to convince him to show up: a tasteful naughty picture of herself sent to him with the promise of 'good things' if he came over had pretty much been all she needed. Sure, Peter had originally rejected her offer, claiming he had to be in court later that afternoon, but she was persuasive and she figured that maybe he was missing her just as much as she was missing him.

When he showed up at her door, she greeted him in a simple dress and nothing more.

"Morgan's back to work." Riley stated with a smirk. "And I'm off for the day."

"I have two hours before I have to be in court."

"Oh _counselor_ , that's plenty of time for what I want to do." She purred, taking his hand and slamming the door shut. She grabbed at his coat and when he was free of it, she tossed it at the couch, tiptoeing towards her bedroom, watching over her shoulder as he loosened his tie.

As soon as they were in her bedroom though, he paused and looked around, taking in her room as if it was the first time he was seeing it because, well, it was. Her one wall was covered with shelves and shelves of books of all shapes and sizes. Against another wall was a small desk with a laptop residing there, more books along the back edge of the wall, this time, they seemed to be some sort of manuals.

Peter stepped away from her and wandered over to her desk, eying up the titles on the thick books; 'Concrete Manual', 'Wood Design', 'Steel Design' just to name a few. She stepped up behind him and slipped under his arm, forcing it to rest across her shoulders.

"I use them for work." She stated and he reached out a hand, running his fingers along the spines.

Yes, he was aware that she worked for a structural engineering company but these books were proof of that, and also proof that she was way smarter than she let on; this made her feel more real to him. He was thoroughly impressed by it all and when she let out a sigh, he turned to look at her, wondering what type of girl she really was and what exactly she was looking for with him.

Morgan had told him about the challenge but was that _all_ he was to her, some sort of game to play in order to win? He wasn't so sure, but he also knew better than to press for answers when a girl was basically offering up sex on a silver platter.

"And all those?" He asked, turning to face the wall of books. His eyes scanned some of the titles in bigger fonts and he found himself wanting to laugh. She had said that she liked books, but this was beyond what he was imagining. Riley Prescott just continued to impress him, which made him like her all the more.

"I read for fun." She let out a quiet laugh. "It's a lost art I know but books are awesome."

"Who's your favourite author?"

"Oh man, you're going to make me pick just one?" She teased and shifted away from him, her legs carrying her over to her wall of books. She ran her hand over them and looked for one particular title, landing on a florescent yellow colour spine. When she pulled it off the shelf, she offered it to him and he carefully took it from her, reading the title; 'The Female of the Species'.

"Mindy McGinnis is up there, yeah she's more for young adults but I started reading her stuff back in high school. This one is intense." Riley explained. "' _The female of the species is more deadly than the male, except humans_ '. The main character is just so badass you know."

She took it back from him and set it on the desk beside the laptop before going back to the wall and looking for another book. Peter merely watched her as she searched the titles on the wall, a spring to her step as she moved down each shelf. When she finally seemed to find what she was looking for, she grabbed hold of the spine and pulled it free, immediately showing it to him.

"Andy Weir's 'The Martian'." Peter read the title aloud and Riley nodded enthusiastically.

"More math and science related but it was amazing. James Patterson is another of my favourite authors but his stuff is touch and go."

"You really like books." He pointed out.

"Yeah." She shied away from his gaze as he set the book he was holding on top of the other one on the desk. "Sorry."

"What for?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "You clearly came over here for a purpose and here I am sidetracked by books."

"If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked." Peter replied softly. "If it's something you like, I don't mind hearing about it."

She shied away from his gaze and looked back at her books. Was she embarrassed by the sheer amount of them, maybe, but each book on her shelf had been read and had been deemed a good enough book for her to keep. It was when she pulled him around to the other side of her bed that his eyes landed on the two piles of books against the base of the wall.

"Those are ones I haven't read yet." She admitted. "Most of them I find pretty cheap but sometimes you just have to pay full price."

"You've never actually talked that much about books before."

"No." She sighed. "In all fairness, I don't usually see a guy once I've slept with him once."

"How do you get to know people then?" Peter asked with a small smirk.

Riley didn't answer him right away, but she did take his hand in hers and maneuver him so that he was sitting on the bed directly in front of her. She moved her hands up to grab hold of his tie but she refused to meet his eyes, not wanting to have this conversation with him.

She just wanted to have sex with him and get him out of her apartment before she did something she regretted, but what that was, she wasn't sure. Everything with Peter Stone was new to her. He was getting to know her like no man ever really had before and she was letting it happen.

What was she going to do with him once she completed all of Morgan's stipulations? Was she going to just let him go and move on, ready to head back to her old way of doing things? Or would she crave him even more than she already did?

"I'm not usually a fan of most people." Riley finally responded and she stiffened as his hands came up to close over hers.

"Maybe we can change that."

"You already have." She countered, the words coming out of her mouth before she could stop them. Riley immediately made a move to recoil but he held her hands firmly and forced her to remain in front of him.

When he was confident she wasn't going to back away, he moved his hands away from hers but rested them against her hips instead, gingerly moving her body forwards. She held her breath and braced herself but he was so gentle that she didn't need to fear anything.

It was when he kissed her that she felt her entire body relax and he continued to pull her forward, holding her tight against him. She let him lead her to the bed and his hands took over, roaming up her side and back down to her hips.

She never wanted him to stop touching her but she was scared for when this whole dare thing was over. She didn't want to stop seeing Peter Stone, but frankly she wasn't sure how to continue whatever it was they had going on.

She just hoped and prayed that maybe he didn't want to let her go as much as she didn't want him to.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Morgan was tired of working already and she had only been there for a couple of hours. Things felt awkward between her and, well, most of her team. Carisi was acting super weird to her and anytime she encountered Rollins, she felt like she was being bullied by the queen bee. Fin didn't seem to know how to treat her and Morgan wasn't sure if it was because of what had happened to cause her to be off for so long or if it was because he could clearly see the tension she had with the other two.

The only person who didn't seem to have a problem with her was Liv, and thank god for that. Her boss had simply asked her if she felt better and handed her an assignment to get moving on, something easy that would keep her in the precinct for most of the day.

Morgan appreciated what Liv was trying to do but she was growing bored and restless, desperate to get back out there and do what she did best. Except maybe she didn't want to do that with Carisi, not yet anyways, not until she could figure out what the hell was going on with him.

"Ugh." Morgan whined and leaned back in her chair, stretching out her achy back. She was cranky to start with and when she caught the attention of Carisi, who was currently staring at her, confusion evident on her face, it just served to make her even grumpier. "Fuck off Sonny."

"Whoa hey, what'd I do?" He shot back, clearly thinking he didn't deserve her animosity. Maybe he didn't, but Morgan was frustrated and he was the easiest target.

"Rollins keeps giving me the stink eye. Every time I see her, I just keep thinking 'if you do that long enough, your face might get stuck like that', it cheers me up a little but I don't get what her problem with me is." Morgan complained and Sonny straightened up in his own chair, looking from Morgan to where Rollins sat across the room. "What?"

"You've been off for a couple of weeks."

"So?" Morgan growled. "That just means that I wasn't even here to piss her off, so again I ask, what the hell did I even do to her?"

"Maybe it's not what you did to her."

"Then what is it?" Morgan's eyes narrowed in on him and he seemed to actually be squirming in his seat. For god's sake, what the hell had he done while she had been gone? What did he do that caused Rollins to hate her? "Is this your fault?"

Sonny offered her a shrug but she slammed her palms against the surface of her desk, watching as he jumped at her actions; good, at least she could still get to him. Sonny leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows against his own desk, then he planted his chin against his hands and stared at Morgan.

"She might still be mad about the ravioli place." Sonny explained but Morgan didn't get it. That was forever ago and she hadn't even done anything on purpose. It wasn't Morgan's fault that Carisi had cancelled on her; she hadn't even known anything until they had run into Rollins accidentally. "Look, things have been off since you've been gone. I don't get the impression she's mad at you-"

"Well she ain't giving anyone else the stink eye." Morgan cut him off, her words harsh and firm. "I don't like awkward Sonny."

"Maybe she's upset that I haven't exactly been falling at her feet like normal."

Morgan snorted at him and shook her head, "she's mad because you grew a pair, is that what you're telling me? And she thinks that you growing a pair is somehow my fault, that sound about right?"

"Sounds possible."

"So she's upset because you're paying attention to someone who isn't her anymore? What is this; 'if she can't have you, no one can'. I call bullshit on that."

Maybe this was exactly why Morgan didn't have a lot of female friends growing up. Riley was really her only one, or at least the only important one and she never pulled petty crap like this. No if Riley had a problem, she came right out and said it, at least when it came to Morgan. Though in all fairness, they rarely had problems with each other.

This though, this was stupid. They were all grown ass adults, they were at a place of business, so why couldn't Rollins at least pretend that she was fine with Morgan?

"Her and I- it's complicated."

"It's always complicated with you Carisi." Morgan cried out. "I'm done with your crap too."

"I didn't do anything to you."

"Whatever. You need to talk to her Dominick." Morgan snarled, using his given name, which he never heard, not from Morgan. "Fix whatever it is that you broke while I was gone."

"Mo-"

"Nope." Morgan hopped to her feet and grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair. "I'm heading out to grab something to eat. If I come back and she's still giving me the stink eye, I will punch you."

"Mo come on." He pleaded but Morgan shook her head at him in disbelief.

She shot him a wave and took off out of the room, leaving Sonny Carisi to deal with the mess he had made while she was gone.

Morgan was over this, she hated awkwardness but she hated confrontation more, especially when she hadn't even done anything to the woman. So what if Rollins was mad that his attention was on Morgan instead of her, that wasn't Morgan's fault.

All Rollins had to do was treat him like a normal human being instead of leading him on day in and day out.

Fuck her, fuck Sonny.

Her mind drifted back to her days in narcotics and she found herself remembering why she had transferred out of there. Too much drama, always too much drama.

Now, it seemed, it had followed her to SVU.

Well Morgan wasn't having it. If she came back from grabbing a bite to eat and things didn't feel even the tiniest bit less awkward, she was going to go home, simple as that. This wasn't why she had wanted to come back to work and it wasn't worth it to her to have to deal with petty shit like that.

Shaking her head, Morgan prayed that things would settle down before she had to decide if it was worth it again.

And that was a consideration she didn't take lightly.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley had gone with him to court, she had sat with the rest of the people and watched Peter Stone do his job as ADA and damn was she impressed, and maybe even a little turned on, by what he seemed to accomplish in court.

She hadn't planned on going with him but after they had finished having sex, and he informed her that he really did have to go, she offered to go with him, to watch him do something he loved, as if to balance the scales for her sharing her love of books with him. He had been a little reluctant at first, worried that she might be bored, but Riley promised him she wouldn't and even if she did get bored, she'd never actually let him know that.

She wanted to be supportive in whatever he did, plus it wasn't like she had ever really been to court, aside from traffic court when she was in her late teens, so to her this was exciting. She had no idea how it worked, or what was supposed to happen, all she did know was that Peter Stone definitely lived up to the reputation she had heard about from Morgan.

It definitely helped that he was wearing a nice suit and acting like a smug bastard in front of the judge and jury. God he really was a good attorney and Riley definitely did not envy the poor sucker opposing him.

When the judge called for them to reconvene the following day, Riley practically leapt out of the hard, wooden seat a few rows behind Peter and rushed out into the hallway, waiting for him and trying not to vibrate with excitement. She was impressed, thoroughly, and she couldn't wait to tell him how much she liked watching him work.

Peter stepped out into the hallway too but Riley held her breath, trying to stay calm. This was his jurisdiction, he didn't need her fangirling all over him in front of people that he worked with, right? She could hold her composure until they were alone somewhere, sure she could, even if all she wanted to do was take his hand and kiss him so hard that his head spun.

Waiting patiently for him to finish talking to his client, she watched him and when he was done, he sauntered over to her, his briefcase in his hand and a smirk on his face.

"You really didn't have to come." He stated and sneakily slipped his fingers between hers. She leaned against his side and let out a low hum, not sure what words to use on him at that moment. "Come on, we can go to my office."

She cocked her head sideways and grinned at him, letting him lead the way. It was a short walk but when she laid eyes on the door to his office, she couldn't help but beam with pride. This man was a good man and he was all sorts of interested in her. There was no way she was going to just let him walk away once the bet was over and done with. She wanted to keep him, she just hoped that she could tell him that without him rejecting her.

He let go of her hand and ushered her into his office, shutting the door behind them and even going as far as to lock it. Oh perfect, clearly he didn't want to be interrupted just as much as she didn't.

"I wore my 'fuck me' heels." Riley teased and he let out a laugh at her confession before striding over to his desk, where he set down his briefcase and flopped into his chair.

"You'd be the first girl to be fucked in my office." He replied.

"God you always know just what to say." She crooned, strutting closer to him and leaning against the edge of his desk. "ADA Stone, you put on quite the show back there, are you always so cocky?"

"Most of the time." Peter gave her a nod and she jokingly fanned herself with her one hand. "Can I be serious for a second here?"

"Hmm, maybe." She cooed, shifting her butt from the edge of his desk to his lap, where she sat. His arms slipped around her middle and he held her there, fearful that what he had to say might spook her and cause her to run off. "Are you going to tell me I've been a _bad_ girl?"

"Have you?" He practically purred but when Riley went to reply, he dropped his forehead against her bicep and let out a sigh of his own. Wait, what was happening here? What was his issue? "I need to put a pause on this dirty talk thing."

"Okay." She was nervous, scared for what he had to say. Was this where he confessed that he didn't actually like her, was this the point of their 'relationship' that he told her he was bored of her and didn't want to see her again?

She let a blanket of silence fall over them and when he shifted in his chair, she stiffened, but he didn't let go of her. He did free up one of his arms and opened the top drawer on his desk, producing two small rectangles of thick paper and handing them to her. She looked at the face of them and realized they were tickets, but not just any tickets, tickets to a Mets game.

"I don't like the Mets." Riley said, but followed his index finger as he pointed about halfway down the ticket. Oh! Oh lord, her beloved Yankees were playing the Mets and he had managed to get tickets to that game! Where had this man been all her life? "Jesus!"

"I know a guy who used to play for the Mets."

"Huh." She continued to stare at the tickets. This had to be a good sign right, a person who was about to end things didn't hand over baseball tickets, right?

"Riley, what are we?" Peter asked and she reluctantly moved her eyes away from her precious tickets to look at his face. She studied him carefully but didn't know how to answer him. She had no idea what they were, in her head, they were two people having a good time, but there wasn't a word to describe that.

"I don't know." She answered, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"What do you _want_ us to be?"

"What?"

He let out a sigh and his grip on her loosened, "have you been with another man since me?"

She immediately shook her head no, "nope."

"Have you thought about it?"

"No…I don't know, I don't think so." She answered, as honest as she could be.

It wasn't like she sat at home and thought about all the guys that she could potentially sleep with, actually, Morgan's dare had pretty much been the cause of her not thinking about any other guys. She hadn't even noticed any potential hookups since the first night she had gone home with him.

"I like you." Peter's voice was soft and she could hear the tiniest bit of hesitation there.

"Okay." She sucked in a nervous breath.

"A lot."

"I like you too." Huh, well that wasn't what she was expecting to come out of her own mouth, yet she didn't regret the words. Not even a little bit. She _did_ like Peter Stone, and he liked her, so to her, it seemed simple.

"Maybe we're not at a label yet but I think, maybe we shouldn't see other people, not until we see where this thing between us goes." Peter offered.

Well that didn't sound so bad, in fact, it sounded nice. She wouldn't look at, or do anything, with other guys (not that she had been) and he wouldn't see other girls. Morgan would be proud; hell, Riley was proud of herself too.

"Yes." She smiled, and felt him relaxing underneath her. "I definitely don't want to see other people."

He simply smiled back at her and studied her face, looking into her expressive brown eyes. His hand came up and he gingerly brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, Riley resting her hands on his shoulders in response.

"Can I ask you something?" She spoke out and rubbed tiny circles against the side of his neck with her thumb.

"Always."

"Right, so I know you're older than me but I can't figure out _how_ much older, not that it bothers me, it's just something I think I should be allowed to know since we're exclusive and all."

"How old are you?"

"You're not supposed to ask a woman that." Riley tipped her head and poked his shoulder with her finger.

"That doesn't sound fair to me."

"Sue me." She shrugged and smirked at him. "You could probably manage a win but all I could give you is my skirt."

"So what you're saying is I could literally sue the pants off you?" He teased.

"Skirt but yeah. Desk sex is harder in pants." Riley pointed out. "Seriously, are you like pushing sixty? Just look young for your age?"

"Riley…" His tone carried a hint of warning.

"Fifty? A man with your experience certainly has a few years on him, right?"

"Come on."

"Okay okay, forty?"

"Close enough."

"Yeah, and how come you're not married- wait, you're married aren't you? I'm sleeping with a married man." Riley gaped, looking into his eyes. "Being the other woman sounds kind of hot-"

"You're _not_ the other woman, you're the only woman."

"Not as exciting but honestly, you're probably still getting laid."

"Just promise me there won't be any more 'clothes stay on' dates." Peter suggested.

"Yeah, I agree. You don't even want to know what I did when I got home that night, and Morgan was in the house at the time, like thank god she sleeps through anything."

"Why don't you come home with me tonight then?"

Riley's lips curled up into a devious smile, "why do we have to go anywhere? You locked the door didn't you?"

Yes he certainly did.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Well hey there." Morgan called out as Riley stepped into the apartment. She jumped at Morgan's words, not expecting her to be there so early, but once she realized it was just her roommate lounging on the couch, she relaxed.

"You're home kind of early, aren't you?" Riley shot back, slipping her feet out of her heels and leaving them at the front door. She then peeled off her jacket and hung it on the small rack just above the shoes. "Did you get yourself fired already?"

"Ha ha." Morgan faked a laugh and shook her head, pausing in her response long enough for Riley to join her on the couch. "No, I didn't get fired. Rollins kept giving me dirty looks."

"Oh Mo, was the popular girl being mean to you?" Riley jeered, and Morgan leveled her with a glare. She let out a sigh though and leaned against Riley, basking in the comfort her best friend provided her.

"Sonny seemed to think it was because he blew her off a couple of weeks ago to hang out with me instead."

"Petty." Riley remarked. "I thought Rollins was a grown ass woman, you make her sound like a bitchy teenager."

Morgan only let out a growl in response. Riley shoved her arm around Morgan's shoulders and hugged her friend tight, letting her know that whatever was going on at work, she was on Morgan's side, even if it sounded like a juvenile disagreement.

It had to be hard for Morgan though, working closely with a man she harboured a crush on, and then to throw in a woman who seemed to relish in the same man's attention- talk about chaotic. Hell if that had been Riley, she would've said something by now, and not necessarily intentionally. Riley also knew Sonny Carisi well enough to know that Morgan was very just in liking the man.

He was a smart guy, nice enough, and he clearly cared a lot about her which had been evident by the fact that he willingly gave up his evening to babysit her when she was high as a kite. Then he even volunteered to hang out with her, taking her to lunch, the following day.

Sure that could've been classified as friendship behaviour but Sonny Carisi had spent the night, even when Riley had told him he could go. To her, that seemed like more than just something a friend would do.

"I told Sonny to fix it by the time I got back from lunch." Morgan confessed. "I fucking hate awkwardness, especially at work and even more especially when I had very little to actually do with it."

"Was it awkward between you and Rollins or other people too?" Riley pressed.

"Mostly me and Rollins but Sonny too. He was all 'oh she's just mad at me because I'm paying more attention to you now' and I'm all 'that's bullshit' so I went to get lunch, give him the opportunity to fix it right but when I got back," Morgan paused and took a deep breath, "it felt worse than before."

"I can talk to her if you want." Riley offered.

"Your definition of talk, at least in this instance, more than likely means 'threaten'." Morgan pointed out.

"Right, okay, but I can be intimidating." Riley whined.

Morgan let out a genuine bark of laughter. Maybe under regular circumstances Riley could be a little bit intimidating but Amanda Rollins was a seasoned cop, one who dealt with the lowest form of scum on the planet. It would take more than what Riley could give for a woman like her to be intimidated by her promiscuous brunette friend.

Giving Riley's thigh a gentle pat, Morgan let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes, silently wishing for things to go back to normal. She just wanted her and Sonny to be good, and she wanted Rollins to be able to look at her without curling her lip and snarling.

"I could stab her with my high heels." Riley offered. "That would hurt."

"Ry, I appreciate the offer but I think this is a situation best handled by, well, anyone but you."

Riley rolled her eyes but chuckled at her friend's hopelessness. She hated to see Morgan so down, so affected by something that seemed so stupid to her. Amanda Rollins and Morgan Loughton were on the same team, but it certainly didn't seem like it lately. Maybe transferring would do everyone some good, maybe then there could be peace amongst the ranks.

"Okay but if you do think of something I can do to help, you just let me know."

Morgan awkwardly nodded against her shoulder and settled in further against her side, wanting nothing more than to keep her eyes shut and fall into a peaceful slumber where nothing would bother her.

She felt the world around her melting away as Riley's hand carefully ran up and down the back of her shoulder in a soothing manner. This was precisely what she needed and she was starting to consider herself lucky that she had come home when she did because being back at work had only served to piss her off.

Things felt too off, maybe because she had been gone for two weeks, but still; the only person who had treated her normally had been Liv. Morgan had really appreciated that, but it wasn't enough. She couldn't work somewhere where only one person respected her.

"It's just shitty because honestly I think Amanda is a great detective." Morgan said the words in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper. "There's so much she could teach me but she's writing me off because some guy stopped paying attention to her and started paying attention to me."

"Well girls are bitches." Riley stated nonchalantly, as if it was the simplest explanation in the world. "Even me, just not to you because I love you."

"Thanks Ry." Morgan sighed. "I love you too."

Riley shifted her body on the sofa and moved into a more relaxing and comfortable position. Her and Morgan were pretty close to laying on each other but neither girl felt the need to move. They were quite content sitting like that and when a blanket of silence fell over them, they simply basked in it, enjoying each other's company without having to say anything.

This was why Morgan liked Riley so much, she knew when it was okay to just be there without having to speak. She knew that not all silences were awkward and sometimes they were nice to participate in. Morgan loved the fact that she had managed to find a best friend like Riley.

"What are your thoughts on me transferring again?" Morgan broke the silence expecting Riley to argue right away or to throw Morgan off of her, she did neither though, instead, she lifted a hand up and began playing with the ends of Morgan's hair. "Ry?"

"You know I'd support whatever you wanted to do but I think that if you transferred now, that just means Rollins wins." Riley explained. "And I don't know about you but I wouldn't want to let some jealous bitch beat me."

Morgan let out a snort, "fair point. You might be right. I can be a better person than her."

"You _are_ a better person than her." Riley corrected. "I know it's really hard to deal with but you can do it. And if you need to, you can call me any time you want to talk to me, even if you're off crying in the bathroom because you don't think you can take her anymore."

A laugh erupted from Morgan's throat and she tipped her head to get a better look at Riley, "I have never once done that."

"Oh I know, but I have and every time you answered, I always hung up feeling way better." Riley remarked.

With a gentle squeeze of her friend's middle, Morgan silently thanked her for the helpful words. She was right, Morgan wasn't about to let some bitch beat her, especially when she didn't really even do anything. She was a great cop and Rollins wasn't going to get in the way of her working her ass off and showing everyone else that too.

"So, today was your day off right?" Morgan asked.

"Sure was."

"Then where were you?"

Riley tensed but shook her head in defeat, at least what she was about to say might cheer her friend up more, "I was in court."

Morgan bolted upright and stared at her friend, concern laced on her face, "what?"

"God no, not like that. I was watching Peter." Riley shrugged, trying to play it off as no big deal.

"Again: _what_?"

"I asked him if he wanted to come over, he said he had to be in court but came anyways. We hung out, hooked up and then I went with him to see what exactly he does."

"I'm sorry, I'm going to need more details." Morgan reached out, slapping Riley on the thigh.

"He came over here, we talked about books and then had sex in my bed." Riley carried on and when she looked at Morgan, her friend motioned for her to keep talking. "I like him Mo, so I went with him to court and after we went to his office."

"Jesus Ry! So you did number four?" Morgan's eyes bugged out at Riley who slowly nodded her head. "Wow."

"Right!"

"You're getting pretty serious with him." Morgan said, not really asking but more-so stating. "And you're feeling alright with that?"

Riley took her bottom lip in between her teeth and recalled how unafraid she felt when he suggested they be exclusive. Something about Peter Stone just felt right to her and she didn't know how to explain it.

"We're exclusive."

"Shit Ry! You have a boyfriend!"

"No, not my boyfriend." Riley adamantly shook her head.

"Ry-"

"No." She continued to shake her head. "We just agreed to see only each other, there's no label yet."

Morgan stared at Riley with a dumbfounded expression on her face. Using the actual word of boyfriend or not, this was a huge step for her friend. The last guy that Riley had seen exclusively was back in college and to this day, Morgan wasn't entirely sure what had caused that relationship to end.

"Okay." Morgan gave a curt nod of her head. "Well that's good for you."

"Yeah." Riley broke into a smile, Morgan matching hers with one of her own. "Yeah I really like this one."

"That's good because stipulation number five is to spend the entire night with him." Morgan stated.

Riley merely kept smiling, staring at Morgan and thinking of all the fun she could have in a whole night. Right now, she wasn't going to think of the bad things that might happen, she was going to focus on the positives and hope that she could pull this one off.

She'd never admit it out loud, not even to Morgan, but the idea of spending an entire night with a guy scared her absolutely shitless.

She could fake her way through this too, right?


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a fluke that Morgan was currently sitting on the couch next to Stone, entertaining him while Riley made her way home. Riley was supposed to have been in the apartment already but her boss had called her into his office late which meant that Riley was running late and when she had called Stone to tell him that, he had already been on his way.

Morgan knew the guy though, they worked together enough to be friendly and hey, maybe she could use this as an opportunity to ask him about some things she was struggling with. She had a beer open and when she had offered him one, he had politely declined, saying something about beer at the Mets game.

"Last time I was here when you were, you were 'high as balls' as Riley put it." Peter remarked with a smirk. Morgan tried not to dwell too much on that night, especially considering she didn't remember most of the things she had said or done.

"I called you Rock Man." Morgan laughed. "Sorry about that."

"Forgiven."

"Well that's one thing off the list." Morgan shook her head, bits and pieces of that night came to her at the most inopportune moments. She could vaguely recall calling Carisi her 'mother of dragons' but she hadn't confronted him about it, she was way too embarrassed and if Carisi wasn't going to mention it, then she certainly wasn't going to either. "You know Riley's almost done this bet thing right?"

"What's left?"

Morgan hesitated but figured he already knew enough, it wasn't worth keeping it from him, "just one thing: she has to spend the whole night with a guy- that's you, now that you two are boyfriend and girlfriend."

"That's not…spend the whole night with me?" Peter looked at Morgan, wondering what the rules were on this stipulation, if there were any. "But we can do whatever we want this time?"

"Yes." She nodded yes but paused, wondering why he seemed to be confused. "Oh gross, don't turn this into some sort of like sex challenge, I just mean that Riley…well she hasn't slept over with a man since college."

"Not a one?"

"Not that I know of." Morgan shrugged. It was possible there were men she spent the night with but not since they had moved in together, which had been quite a while ago. "She always comes home, I wait up for her, it's our thing."

Peter didn't respond, instead he took her words to heart and considered what spending the night with Riley might entail. If she hadn't spent the night with a guy since college, then there were probably going to be some obstacles, right?

"Do you think she can do it?" Peter asked, genuinely wondering if his female companion was capable of simply spending the night with him.

"Honestly, I have no idea. There's obviously a reason why she doesn't but I have no idea what it is. I never asked, she never mentioned it so I'm anticipating a rough go at it for you."

"So you're suggesting maybe I have-"

"Oh my god, brilliant idea." Morgan cut him off and he fought off the urge to chuckle at Morgan's enthusiasm. "Okay right, so the Yankees are away next week and they're on the west coast, which means the games will be on later because of the time change- wow I know way too much about baseball, we can blame Ry for that."

"A late-night baseball game." Peter echoed her sentiments and she beamed at him.

"Invite her over to watch, at the very least, it'll keep her occupied for like three hours." Morgan explained. "After that, you have to find your own ways to occupy her but from what she's said about you, I don't think that'll be a problem."

"You know too much about me." Peter said flatly.

"I know." She agreed. "Sorry, you're dating my best friend, it sort of comes with the territory."

He tipped his head sideways, desperate to get off this particular topic of conversation. He just wanted Riley to walk through the door and whisk him away from this awkward chat with Morgan, but he knew he wasn't that lucky. Instead, he tried to think of something to get her onto a different topic and by god, if it wasn't staring him in the face.

"So next week she spends the night, wins the bet and you have to do what again?"

"Tell this guy that I like him." Morgan answered.

"And who is _this_ guy."

"Ha, wouldn't you like to know." Morgan shook her head. "Not today ADA."

"Well do you have a plan on how you're going to tell him at least?" Peter asked, thankful to be on to something other than him and Riley.

"I could take extra painkillers again and just let 'high' me deal with that."

"So no real plan then." Peter nodded, more to himself than to Morgan. "Might I suggest something?"

"Yes, ugh please!" Morgan was practically whining but before he could give her any sort of advice, Riley came bounding through the door, dropping her work bag on the floor just inside the door.

She stopped in her movements and spotted her best friend and her date for the night sitting on the couch together, clearly having a relatively pleasant conversation. Kicking her shoes off, she pranced over and plunked her butt down on the coffee table directly in front of Peter, who leaned forward and kissed her in greeting.

"I have to change, give me like five minutes?" Riley requested and slapped Morgan on the knee in a fun way of saying hi. Morgan glared back at her but didn't say a word.

"Take as long as you need." Peter countered.

With that, Riley was back on her feet, darting across the room and disappearing into the bedroom. Morgan rolled her eyes, never having had to watch her friend actually be romantic with a guy that she wasn't about to immediately sleep with. The two of them were so cute together that it made her stomach hurt, but hey, as long as Riley was happy, and she definitely seemed happy.

Peter Stone was a genius with women and he easily pleased Riley, who had told Morgan all about how he had gotten tickets to a Mets game but quickly added that they were playing the Yankees. Smart ADA for sure and Morgan could definitely get behind Riley's relationship if it was with an intelligent man like Stone.

"Just do it quick." Peter said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them, the only sounds coming from Riley's room as she opened and shut her drawers.

"What?" Morgan looked at him, her head cocked sideways in confusion.

"If you're going to tell this guy how you feel about him, just do it quick, don't dance around what you're trying to say. Clear and to the point so that he doesn't get the wrong idea." Peter explained, and boy howdy did that not really help Morgan feel any better about it at all.

She had to tell her partner, the man she worked with every day, that she liked him. Doing it quickly made sense but it wasn't like Stone had to work with him every day. What if he didn't like her like that? What if she just ruined everything?

Part of her didn't want Riley to win the bet because she didn't want to have to tell Sonny that she liked him as more than a friend. Another part of her, a bigger part, wanted Riley to complete the bet for the sheer purpose of knowing that she could go a whole night with a man. It was a step in the right direction for Riley, at least that's what Morgan was hoping.

"Can I get him loaded first?" Morgan asked, trying to be funny but her tone came out more pathetic than anything.

"Highly unrecommended."

"Ready!" Riley called out and practically ran out from her room, her Yankees t-shirt adorning her top half while her black yoga pants adorned her bottom half. She had her running shoes on her feet and her hair was half pulled back, her Yankees hat in her hand. "I promise to try and behave myself but honestly, if someone says shit about my Yankees, I will break teeth."

"She's not kidding." Morgan muttered. "One time she punched this girl in the face because she called some player a pussy. It was kind of awesome."

"Right. Well, as long as you promise to _try_ and, if you don't, it's a good thing I'm a lawyer." Peter was clearly trying to make light of Morgan's remark and Riley smiled at his words. "Let's go."

Morgan remained on the couch as she watched her best friend walk out of the apartment with ADA Peter Stone. God they were so cute together, a perfect match in her eyes.

She just hoped that Riley would be able to make it through the night, but Morgan wasn't counting on it happening without some serious issues coming up.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"I have never actually been this close to the field." Riley remarked as the two of them took their seats, Riley dropping down into hers roughly. She looked out at the field in front of her, which was so close she could pretty much see every detail of the guys warming up along the first base line. "Shitty that I'm in a section full of Mets fans but hey, we can't always win."

"You seem to be the type of woman who likes to win though."

"Hmm yes, definitely. I got you though, and you're pretty alright." Riley offered with a joking shrug. When his arm came around her shoulders, she settled in against him and let out a soft sigh of content. If this was what dating a man comprised of, Riley was sure mad that she had put it off for so long. "Definitely helps that Mo pretty much dared me to go after you."

"Hey yeah, speaking of that, she told me what the last thing you had to do was." Peter segued and Riley cocked her head sideways, wondering why Morgan would've told him anything involving the challenge to start with let alone the last step she had to do in order to win.

"I don't think I like you and her talking about me behind my back." Riley countered, but she didn't mean it in a malicious way, she just didn't like being plotted against and Morgan could definitely plot. "But I guess it was probably nice of her to warn you."

"You're okay spending the night?" He pressed.

"Yeah, sure." She practically shrugged it off. "I guess."

"Okay." He gave a nod of his head and shifted his arm so that he was holding on to her a little tighter. "Why don't you come over next week and we can watch the Yankees?"

"What?" Riley snorted. "That's your big plan for my whole 'spend the night' deal?"

"It's a late game, might help ease you into-"

"I'm not a child." Riley scoffed but took his offer to heart. Okay, so it wasn't like she had a lot of experience spending the night with a guy and the last time she did it, she had been a good ten years younger. Plus she was anticipating some issues coming up because spending the night meant getting close to Peter and getting close meant breaking down walls that Riley had worked so hard to put up.

Maybe this was a great opportunity though. He wanted to ease her into it and watching a Yankees game would definitely be a lot more comfortable than just hanging out without something to distract her.

"I never said you were." Peter point out. "I just want you to be comfortable."

"And I am, with you." She said. "And honestly, I think your idea is great because as much as I try and pretend this whole thing will be fine and dandy, maybe it won't, who really knows?"

Leaning over towards her, he pressed a kiss against the side of her head and she let out a soft sigh. What the hell was happening to her, why was she being all mushy and romantic with a guy? This wasn't her usual motive but Peter Stone was getting to her, in a good way. He was incredibly smart, super attractive and his cocky attitude was just Riley's style.

Maybe he could handle her, maybe he'd be fine with whatever issues came to surface.

"Friday night then, since I'm off on the weekends."

"I usually am too." He teased. "Friday it is."

"I'll bring pizza." Riley offered.

"And maybe your 'fuck me' shoes?" He chuckled and she shook her head with a sly smile. Maybe she'd bring her heels, maybe she wouldn't, she'd just have to wait and see. "You're really going to win this thing aren't you?"

Riley let out a loud laugh, catching the attention of some of the people around her. She raised her hands up in apology and turned slightly to face Peter. He was studying her intensely but his lips were curled upwards into a genuine smile.

"I don't lose." She stated firmly.

"But what's really in it for you?" Peter asked. "What does it matter to you if you beat Morgan?"

"I want to see her squirm." Riley's eyes widened in sheer malice. "She's never told any guy that she likes him, can you imagine how awesome it'll be to watch her tell her partner-"

"Wait, the guy she likes is Carisi?" Peter's eyes widened to match Riley's and she grinned.

"I definitely thought you were smarter than that." She chuckled. "Yeah, she's got a big old crush on her partner, if you ask me, that's a relationship that's doomed from the start because I cannot imagine working with someone I like as much as she likes Carisi."

"You've never had-"

"Oh no, I have, hence why I say that. Only took me one time to fuck a co-worker to make me see that it was a bad idea." Riley shook her head, reminiscing about her past tirades. "Morgan's co-workers are a different story though. Can't believe she kept you hidden from me for so long."

"You're not like other girls."

Riley beamed at his statement, clearly taking it as a compliment, which was precisely how he meant it. She slipped her hand over and rested it on his thigh, getting comfortable against him as the teams filed out onto the field, ready to play the game. He hugged her tighter against him and felt her relax into the armrest between them.

"I wish I knew you when you were playing." She said softly. "I think that would've been really awesome to watch you pitch."

"One time I had a perfect game going, lost it though."

"I might've considered converting to a Cubs fan for you."

"Really?"

"Okay, no probably not, but I still could've been your fan even though you weren't a Yankee." She teased. "Bet you looked damn cute in those baseball pants."

His answer came in the form of a smug smile, which was really the only response Riley was expecting.

The two of them watched the game, cheering for the Yankees and Riley booing exceptionally loudly for the Mets, which might not have been her brightest idea since most of the fans in their section were Mets fans. It didn't seem to matter to her though, she was having too much fun, having a beer with her exclusive friend Peter Stone and watching her team absolutely obliterate the Mets.

It was when a female fan a row in front of her called her favourite player a 'no good pussy' that Riley started to get antsy. She growled at the woman and slammed her foot against the back of her seat, Peter hardly even noticing as his eyes were busy watching the game.

"Hey!" The woman in front of her whipped around and Riley plastered a saccharine smile on her face, offering up a shrug in response. "You're in the wrong section, aren't you girly?"

"Last I checked, it was a free country." Riley shot back. "Also, not sure why you're getting all up in my face when your team is the one losing."

"Watch your whore mouth!" The woman yelled and Riley scooted forward on her seat, feeling Peter's arm on her shoulders tighten. She tried to ignore the woman, she tried to be the bigger person, but when the woman in front of her threw a handful of peanut shells at her, she snapped.

"I'm going to knock your teeth down into your throat!" Riley seethed and hopped to her feet before Peter had a chance to try and hold her back. The woman in front of her leapt up to her feet too and closed the distance by leaning over the backs of the chairs.

"I'd like to see you try you weak-ass Yankee fan!"

"Oh you did not-"

"Hey, why don't we go grab another beer and I'll see if I can't get us some nachos?" Peter interrupted, standing up beside Riley and slipping his fingers into hers. "Or whatever you want."

She glared at the woman the whole way down the row to the stairs but once they were on their way up to the walk-around, she let out a sigh and tried to keep herself calm. She was a grown up, she could behave like one, even though all she really wanted to do was punch that lady in the throat.

Even if Peter joked about being her lawyer if she needed it, she didn't really _want_ that. She just wanted to spend the evening at the ballpark with Peter, and she couldn't do that if she was kicked out of the stadium.

"My mom used to tell me I got my dad's temper." Riley confessed once they were at the top of the stairs. She stopped walking and leaned against the giant column supporting the level above them. "Sometimes it shows and I can't deny it."

"Doesn't change how I feel about you."

"Okay." She bowed her head. "Good."

"For the record, I know you could've taken her."

When she lifted her head up and spotted his grin, she couldn't help but laugh.

Oh, she could definitely take the woman, but what she really wanted to do at that moment was take Peter Stone, and certainly not in the same way.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Hey Stone, can I talk to you for a sec?" Sonny quipped, poking his head into the ADA's half open doorway. Peter waved the man in and Sonny did so, gently shutting the door behind him. He crossed the office and took a seat in one of the vacant chairs opposite Peter, making himself comfortable while also maintaining eye contact with the ADA. "You working on the serial rape case?"

"I am but I'm sure that's not what you want to actually talk about." Peter countered.

Sonny forced a laugh out and shook his head. Of course a man like Peter Stone, who worked with liars as a career, would know better. It wasn't like Sonny often wandered down to talk to the man, hell, it was actually a pretty rare occurrence, but he didn't really know who else to turn to.

"I uh, I guess I just wanted to check on you and Mo's roommate." Sonny managed to get the words out and Peter dropped his hands onto his desk, looking the man in front of him over. "You know, just to make sure your intentions are good."

"Not sure that's your business but okay. We're fine, I invited her over to watch the Yankees game on Friday."

"She spending the night?"

"You know about the bet too then?" Peter leveled him with a glare and Sonny hesitantly nodded his head yes.

"So Riley's going to win it then." It was a statement, not a question but Peter nodded his response as if it was. "Right, but do you know what Mo has to do?"

"Do you?"

"I do not." Sonny tossed back. "I didn't want to know at the time because I guess I figured it just wouldn't happen."

"Well it's a pretty simple task. She's supposed to tell some guy that she likes him, juvenile if you ask me." Peter stated, fighting off the urge to smirk.

"Some guy…" Sonny echoed his words but let them trail off, his mind clearly far away and not on the conversation at hand. "You don't know who?"

"What's with you and her anyways?" Peter ignored his question and leaned his elbows on the desk, shifting forward in his chair and staring intently at Sonny. God he was curious, so very much so, but he didn't want to get too involved. He didn't want to play anyone's game. "Partners, strictly so?"

Sonny took the question he posed and mulled it over in his head. As far as he knew they were merely partners, at most friends outside of work, but did he want there to be more? Did he want to chance things with Morgan in a romantic way and potentially ruin what they had as detectives?

"I think so."

"So it wouldn't bother you if she told some guy that she had feelings for him?"

Sonny hesitated briefly, "no. No it wouldn't bother me."

"Really? Because you don't look like a guy who would be unbothered by that. I see the way you look at her-"

"Yeah and how's that?" Sonny cut in. Of course, the one person to notice would be the one person to call him out on it. It didn't matter that maybe he wasn't wrong, Sonny _did_ like Morgan, but it was obvious that she wanted some other guy. At least now he knew that and could work on getting over it, moving on even.

"I'm on your side here." Peter offered. "I'm just trying to help."

"Well things are complicated."

"And why's that?"

"Until a week or so ago I was preoccupied with someone else, who Morgan no nicely pointed out was leading me on. Fine, great, and at first I didn't want to believe her but as time went on, it was easier to see that she had a point."

"Who is this _someone_ else?" Peter pressed.

"Rollins. So you can see where things might get a little messy. Plus now there's this weird vibe between her and Rollins and she didn't really do anything."

"She took what Rollins wanted away from her." Peter stated. "Easy to see, harder to deal with."

"Right-"

A quick knock came at the door and Peter glanced towards it, calling for whoever it was to come in. When the door opened and Riley appeared, his eyes lit up, clearly not expecting it to be her. She stepped just inside and looked between the two of them, a paper bag grasped in her hand.

"Boys club, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." She teased and strode over to the desk, setting the paper bag on the top of it, Peter leaning back in his chair and watching as she dug right into it. "Only brought enough for one."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Riley produced a plastic container and set it on the desk directly in front of Peter. She then reached back into the bag and pulled out a set of plastic cutlery for the food inside.

"You two dating or what?" Sonny asked, looking up at Riley.

"Uh, I guess that's one way of putting it." Riley offered with a shrug. "I was making dinner but Mo cancelled on me and so I had extra and thought maybe ADA Stone here could do with some dinner since he's got a big case and all, so big he can't even hardly find the time to text me back."

Peter smirked at her, knowing she wasn't actually mad, more so teasing him. He had definitely seen her last text and as much as he liked her provocative photos, he liked having a job more and figured that unless he wanted to lose a few hours of work, he better put the phone away where it couldn't distract him anymore.

"Well now that you're here, maybe you can help Carisi here out." Peter suggested and Riley crossed her arms before leaning against the side of the desk. "We were talking about how your roommate has to tell that guy she likes that she likes him once you win."

"Hmm, that guy, yeah." Riley rolled the words around on her tongue, wondering what she could say that would help both Sonny and Riley. "So not her type."

"What?" Sonny retorted.

"Why's it matter to you? Do _you_ like her?" Riley narrowed her eyes in on him and Sonny stood up, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"He does." Peter answered for him. So maybe messing around with Sonny and Morgan was entertaining, maybe Riley had a point about it.

"Well I say go for it, you're definitely a better choice than the guy she's thinking about professing her undying love to." Riley smiled. "Plus you two would be so cute."

"On that note, I'll get out of your hair." Sonny announced with a roll of his eyes. Riley shot him a wave and watched him go.

As soon as he was out of the office, the door clicking shut behind him, she turned her attention towards Peter and let out a short bark of laughter. He couldn't help but grin back at her, wrapping his arms around her middle and hauling her down to sit on his lap.

"I really like meddling." Riley murmured, resting her palms on his shoulders.

"Do you think she'll tell him?"

"She can't not tell him, it was part of the deal and if she doesn't do what she said she was going to do, I _will_ punch her in the ovary." Riley explained.

"Might be worth it to her if she gets to keep her secret."

"Then I will keep punching her in the ovaries until she finally does it."

Peter leaned his forehead against her bicep and chuckled. Riley could obviously be persuasive when she needed to be, and when that didn't work, she threatened violence. This time Peter wouldn't stop her either, Morgan was fair game.

"You'd make a terrible lawyer." He teased.

"Yeah, hence why I went to engineering school and not law school." Riley scoffed. "Now eat your dinner before it gets cold."

"I just have one thing to ask you first."

He shifted them both on the chair and reached around her, grabbing hold of an open envelope off the top of his desk. He offered it to her and she took it in her hands, freeing the contents from inside.

A deep navy blue card adorned with gold lettering cried out 'you're invited' and Riley flipped it open, reading the details inside.

"If you don't want to go-"

"A charity gala." She cut him off, reading the words out loud. "Like a fancy ball?"

"Yes."

"Why wouldn't I want to go?" Riley beamed, lightly slapping his chest with the invite. "I get to dress up for you, maybe even get a new pair of 'fuck me' heels- oh my lord and you have to dress up for me!"

"I would. I'd do that anyways if you asked."

"Shut up." She laughed. "I want to go. I want to go really bad."

"Okay then."

"I promise I'll be the best date to a gala you'll ever have." She couldn't stop smiling. "Ha, I'm going to go to a ball, Cinderella, eat your heart out."

"And Morgan will most likely be there." Peter threw in and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "NYPD, all invited."

"Maybe by then her and Sonny Bunny will be a thing!" Riley gasped. "We can double date to the ball!"

Peter smiled right back at her and let the aromas of the dinner she had brought him fill his nostrils. He hadn't asked her to stop by but she had and he found himself genuinely happy by her presence. This was the girl that he liked, that he really liked, and he couldn't help but fall for her harder and harder each time he saw her.

He knew her spending the night would be hard, maybe for both of them, but he wanted to her to do it, he wanted to be there for her, no matter what.

"Sorry, I can go if you're super busy." Riley said, breaking into his thoughts. He knew he really had to get back to work, but he also didn't want to let go of her, not just yet. "I probably should've called anyways."

"No, it's…it's fine."

"Okay." She sounded unsure but didn't fight anymore to leave. He clearly wanted her to stay and stay she would, at least for a little while longer. She liked this man, and spending time with him was something she really enjoyed doing. "I didn't really have time for dessert."

"Well that's not right, here I was thinking _you_ were my dessert."

Oh yes, this was definitely the guy for her.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Morgan felt a lot better at work but it wasn't because Sonny had actually fixed things with Rollins, it was simply because Rollins and Fin had been sent out and Olivia was off at a meeting, which left her alone with Sonny.

Things felt sort of normal, as normal as they could be considering that in just a few days, she'd have to tell the man in front of her how she felt about it. Boy was she not looking forward to that and Stone had given her zero helpful advice. For someone who was supposedly so smart, he had been completely useless to her.

"I'm sorry." Sonny's voice broke the comfortable silence that had fallen between them and Morgan lifted her head up, looking past her computer and meeting his eyes.

"For what? Not that I don't accept it, I'm just confused because there's a bunch of things that apology could be for." Morgan remarked, a hint of smarminess to her tone.

He looked perplexed but dropped his head, a soft sigh escaping him. When he brought his head back up, he spotted a small smile toying at her lips- this he could work with.

"For not believing you when you said Rollins was toying with me. For taking you to that ravioli place and getting on Rollins' bad side. For not sticking up for you when I should have." Sonny listed off the reasons and Morgan listened carefully to each one. "For not believing you could handle yourself when it came to Bitey McBite-face."

"Funny because I didn't think that name would stick." Morgan pointed out with a chuckle. "And also I accept your apology…apologies…is it just one big one or like a bunch of little ones?"

"You're not careful, I might take it back."

"It, as in one big one. Got it." Morgan laughed, kicking her chair away from her desk and spinning around on it once. She stopped moving and met his sparkling eyes, hating how awkward things were going to be once Riley won the bet and she had to tell him how he felt.

"I'm also sorry that I didn't get to you sooner when that scumbag attacked you- not because you couldn't handle it because I know you can, but because you shouldn't have had to." Sonny carried on.

"Sonny Bunny, you keep saying things like that and girls will start swooning." She joked. "Honestly, I'm not mad about that anymore. Yeah, I can handle myself but it was kind of nice for someone to worry about me, even if at the time I was just really pissed off."

"No kidding."

"So I'm sorry too."

"No need doll."

She nodded her head and turned her attention back to her computer, working away at finishing the reports that she had been asked to do. Sonny fell silent at his own desk but when she peeked at him, he wasn't working; he was merely staring at the monitor, lost in his own little world. For a brief second, she wondered what he was thinking about but concluded that he was a man and she probably didn't want to know.

She tried to focus on her reports but found herself staring at him as he stared at his computer. What the hell was wrong with him? In the time that she had known the man, he had very rarely gotten lost in his own head, which only served to cause more worry on her part.

"Yo dude, you okay over there?" She quipped, waving her hand off to her side and trying to catch his attention. He tossed her a quick smile but didn't vocalize his reply. "Weirdo."

"Who you calling a weirdo?"

"You, you're a weirdo." Morgan taunted. "What's going on in that pretty little head of yours Sonny Bunny?"

He sighed and turned away from her, looking at the wall instead of facing her. She stared at him, waiting for him to compose his thoughts and figure out what to say, but after a good thirty seconds of awkward silence, she snorted and his body jerked in surprise.

"Nothing Mo." He decided on his words and forced a smile onto his face before turning back towards her.

" _Weirdo_." She raised her eyebrows and he managed a sad, pathetic laugh. "Speaking of weirdos, my roommate's going to be gone all night on Friday- okay well she's supposed to be, I still have doubts that she'll make it the whole night but whatever."

"Oh yeah, and you won't have to wait up for her. Won't that be weird?" Sonny questioned. "You going to be okay?"

"I don't know." She answered honestly, a sad tone to her voice. "It's kind of nerve-wracking but also exciting. I will have the apartment to myself, I can do whatever I want to do, but also I won't know that Riley's okay."

"She'll be with Stone, how 'not okay' could she be?"

"Oh no I get that but at this point it's almost like muscle memory. I trust Stone with her but it's still going to be rough."

"Well do you want some company?" Sonny offered and she cocked her head sideways at his words. "I mean, just so that you're not alone?"

She stared at him for a few seconds and smiled genuinely. That sounded sort of nice, especially considering the last time he had hung out with her at her apartment, she had been high as a kite and quite ridiculous towards him.

"Do over." She shot back.

"What?"

"A do over because the last time you hung out with me at home, I was off my rocker and calling you all sorts of things."

"Most of which I'd like to forget." He muttered.

"Well this time I promise I won't be high." Morgan made a crossing motion over her heart. "I swear."

Sonny smiled at her and shook his head in amusement, "I'll bring dinner."

"And I'll get beer. We can watch the Yankees if you want."

"Or a movie, whatever."

"We could even play a board game; how are you are checkers?" Morgan posed. "Or crazy eights?"

"The more you talk, the less I want to hang out with you." Sonny jeered and she merely rolled her eyes at him. "Maybe you can tell me about your end of the deal, you know, what you have to do when Riley wins?"

"If." Morgan corrected. "She's got a whole night to get through, that's a long time, plenty of opportunities for her to get into her own head."

"You don't think she'll do it?"

"I'm hoping she doesn't but that's because of what I'm supposed to do-"

"Which is what?"

Morgan took her bottom lip in between her teeth and let out a soft breath, "there's this guy that I'm supposed to tell how I feel."

"What guy?"

Morgan's eyes narrowed and her lips flattened, "wouldn't you like to know?"

Yes, yes he did want to know, but he wasn't going to push it because as of that moment, he had an invite to her place Friday night to keep her company and he'd press her for more then.

For right now, he'd simply enjoy the fact that they were getting back to being on the right track.


	7. Chapter 7

"Oh my god, do I pack like an overnight bag?" Riley whined as she poked her head out into the living room, locking her eyes on Morgan who was sitting on the couch, relaxing, all the while Riley darted in and out of her room in a nervous manner. "Is that…is that what people do?"

"This isn't a girls sleepover Ry, it's just spending the night with your boyfriend." Morgan countered, cool as a cucumber. "Why would you even think you'd need a bag?"

"Do I not take pajamas?" Riley leaned against the doorframe of her bedroom and crossed her arms over her chest.

"No." Morgan shook her head. "Worst case, or maybe best-case scenario, you sleep naked."

"All night?"

"Or you steal one of his shirts if you really don't want to be naked." Morgan shrugged. Why was Morgan better at this than Riley, why did the girl who couldn't even tell her partner how she felt give better advice than she could come up with on her own.

"Toothbrush? I could throw that in my purse."

"Uh you could, or you could use his." Morgan suggested, Riley scrunching her nose up at the thought. "For Christ's sake you slut, you kiss him, you let him put parts of his body into you, what the hell difference does it make at this point in time if you use his toothbrush?"

Riley uncrossed her arms and ran her hands anxiously through her hair, "I haven't stayed over with a guy since I was in college, forgive me for being a little nervous."

"A little?" Morgan scoffed.

A little nervous was the opposite of what Riley was. Her friend was currently in a full-blown tornado of mayhem as she tried to get ready for her sleepover date with Peter Stone. The woman who spent countless hours with random men in their beds was having a near crisis at the thought of spending the night with a man; who would've thought?

Riley stuck her tongue out at her friend and disappeared into her bedroom. When she reappeared, she was wearing a different outfit, which consisted of her Yankees t-shirt and a pair of comfortable pants. She had a sweater in her hold and an elastic on her wrist so that she could put her hair up later if she wanted to.

"Sexy lingerie underneath?" Morgan teased and Riley growled in response. "Chill out Ry, you're going to be fine."

"Maybe, but what if-"

"What if you have too much fun and find that you enjoy the company of ADA Stone? What if you enjoy yourself and end up wanting to sleepover more often? What if tonight is just the first of many nights spent with him and you end up spending happily ever after with him?" Morgan cut her off. "You _will_ be fine. I'm a phone call away if you need me and if you absolutely cannot do it, I won't judge you for coming home early. I mean you'd clearly lose the bet but whatever."

"No." Riley's eyes widened. "No I will _not_ lose. If I fail tonight, I'll just try again, and again until I do it."

Morgan shrugged as if to say 'okay sure' and Riley rolled her eyes at her friend, wandering over to flop down onto the couch next to her. She leaned against Morgan's side and Morgan wrapped an arm around her shoulder, giving her a friendly sideways hug. Riley let out a soft sigh and took Morgan's hand in her own, reveling in the last moment of peace and calm before she took off for Peter's place.

"So seriously, do you have your good bra on underneath there?" Morgan quipped, letting out a laugh.

"I don't own anything but good bras." Riley countered. "I am, however, wearing my really sexy black underwear."

"Oooh, but you know he's already way in to you." Morgan joked. "Promise me one thing though?"

"What?"

"Maybe get to know him a bit more, yeah?"

Riley took her request to heart and considered it. She wanted to get to know Peter, hell, she liked spending time with him, no matter what they were doing, so why was she so scared about staying over at his place for the whole night?

She knew why, but she wasn't going to explain it to Morgan, and even if she wanted to, it's not like she had _that_ much time to spare. She was supposed to be heading over there any minute now and the longer she put it off, the more likely she was to miss the first pitch.

Without actually promising Morgan anything, she peeled herself away from her and made her way to her feet, walking over to the front door and dropping down onto her butt. At the same time that she grabbed her running shoes, a knock sounded out from the door and Riley simply reached up and popped it open, letting none other than Sonny Carisi into their apartment,

The man was carrying a big bag of takeout food and Morgan immediately leapt to her feet, meeting him at the door as Riley gave his thigh a smack with her hand, drawing his attention downwards where he smiled in response. Riley carried on with her shoes and once they were on her feet, she clambered back up to a standing position, threw on her sweater, grabbed her purse and threw a wave to the two people she was leaving in the apartment.

Once the door was shut, Sonny wandered in behind Morgan and followed her into the kitchen, seating himself at the table while Morgan made short work of going through the bag of food and setting the containers on the table. She grabbed two plates and two sets of cutlery, sitting across from him and tossing him a grin.

"She's so nervous, it's like watching my little girl being all grown up." Morgan said softly.

"She'll be fine."

"Yeah she will, she just doesn't know it yet." Morgan pointed out and offered him a fork and knife. He took it from her hands and watched her as she looked over the items that he had picked up from the restaurant just down the street from him. He couldn't help but be amazed at how calm and collected she was being, but then again, Morgan was a strong, independent woman.

He had witnessed her take down a serial rapist by jamming her thumb into his eye. He had watched her recover from the same attack and come back to work stronger than ever. He had witnessed her getting emotional over Rollins, who was maybe angry at Morgan because of Sonny, but nonetheless, Morgan was a great woman.

"You're a good friend to her." Sonny remarked. He often found himself wondering why he didn't have a friend like Morgan had in Riley, and maybe it was a female thing, but he was definitely starting to envy what the two of them had.

"She's always been there for me." Morgan said softly. "Through the good and bad."

"Must be nice." He said genuinely, and all Morgan could do was smile.

She adored Riley, they were best friends, had been since they were kids, but part of what was happening that night scared her too. If Riley did end up spending more and more nights with Stone, where would that leave her? Would she wait up for her one night only to have her not come home and make a comment about not thinking she'd still be waiting?

Would Riley just _know_ when to tell Morgan what her plans were?

At some point, the two of them would have to move out of their shared apartment and go their separate ways, but was Morgan really ready for that? Was she ready to let Riley go and move on with her life? Was Riley ready to let Morgan go?

Sucking in an anxious breath, Morgan set her cutlery down and grabbed at the collar of her shirt, pulling it away from her neck. She felt hot and scared at the thought that either of the two girls was going to be the first to pull away from the other.

They were best friends, and Morgan didn't want that to change.

"You okay Mo?"

Morgan shook her head no and set her palms on the table, sucking in another deep breath, "I don't want her to move out."

Sonny stared at her as if she had grown a second head, "she's going for the night Mo, she'll be back tomorrow."

"Yeah but what if her and Stone fall in love and get married, they're not going to want to live with me and where does that leave me? I can't…I don't want to lose her."

"You're not going to lose her." Sonny murmured and reached across the table, latching his hand onto hers. "She's not going anywhere. You said so yourself, she's your best friend. She's had boyfriends before right, even if it was a long time ago, surely she didn't just kick you to the curb then?"

"No." Morgan shook her head, her voice coming out as a squeak.

"And you two have lived apart before, yeah?"

"Right."

"Then I can promise you, she won't let you go without one hell of a fight."

All Morgan could do was nod because she knew, deep in her heart, that Sonny Carisi was right.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

By the time Riley made it to Peter Stone's front door, she had put her hair up and was carrying a box of pizza in one hand and a six pack of beer in the other. Her purse was over her shoulder and she was starting to feel her stomach going wild; but whether it was from nerves or hunger, she wasn't entirely sure.

Struggling to knock with the hand holding the beer, she winced as the cans hit the door and made an awful banging noise, but she waited patiently and threw a smile on her face when the door in front of her opened. Peter was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and quickly took the pizza from her grasp as he waved her in.

"I was getting worried you were backing out." He stated, closing the door behind her and leading her into the living room. She kicked off her shoes just at the front door and followed him, dropping the beer to the coffee table and her purse to the floor just underneath it.

He sat first and she sat down beside him, leaving a good five inches of space between their bodies, which he obviously noticed by the look on his face but had the decency to not say anything about. Riley turned to him and forced herself to try and stay calm. This wasn't new to her, she'd spent the night before, but it had been forever ago, and honestly, Riley had been a different person back then.

"I lost track of time." She said, explaining why she was maybe later than she had been planning. "Morgan was not being very helpful."

Now that she was here, she felt like maybe an overnight bag would've been better. At the very least, she could've changed to a bigger purse and stored some extra precautionary items in it, but that hadn't crossed her mind.

"With what?" He asked, turned towards her. Riley busied herself with flipping over the pizza box and grabbing a napkin off the stack that he had clearly set out for them. He followed her lead and before she could take a bite, she blew out a sigh.

"I'm going to be honest here, it's been like, I don't even know, more than ten years since I've stayed the night with anyone who isn't Morgan, or my mom, so I'm probably a little more anxious than a normal girl might be."

"That's fair, but I'm not going to do anything to you, or make you do anything, that you don't want."

"I know, it's really one of those cases where I say 'it's not you, it's me' because I have things in my past that no one really knows about."

"And you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I get that." Peter tossed out. She hesitated a little longer but eventually set her pizza back in the box and turned to face him, even going as far as to set her hands on his thigh.

"I didn't bring pajamas." She said, her tone stone cold serious and the look on her face was one of pure defeat.

"Were you supposed to?"

"I don't know." She threw her hands up into the air but let them fall back against his thigh. " _Was_ I supposed to? I mean, I don't want to assume that we're going to be sleeping naked, not that I don't want to do naked activities, I just-"

"Hold that thought?" He cut in, setting his pizza down too. He took hold of one of her hands and pulled her to her feet, leading her into his bedroom. She followed him and when he motioned for her to sit on his bed, she did, a little sad when his hand let go of hers.

She watched him for a second, wondering what the hell he was doing and why he had dragged her into his bedroom. Honestly, she wanted some pizza, at the very least, it would give her something to distract herself and maybe she could manage to calm herself down while they ate and watched the Yankees.

Turning around to face her, he offered her a t-shirt, which she took and unfolded in front of her face, staring at the Cubs logo on the front of it. The shirt itself was a bright royal blue and she snorted at the sight of the bear with the big 'C' around it.

"Wearing this makes me a traitor." She stated, feeling herself calming ever so slightly.

"Turn it around." Peter smirked.

She stared at him as she did so but when she spotted his last name across the back and the number she assumed he wore, she cocked her head sideways.

"Part of me really wishes you had played for the Yankees." She muttered.

"I found it the other day and I thought maybe you could borrow it."

"Does wearing it make me a traitor?" She questioned, lowering the shirt down so that it was resting on her lap, his name wrinkled but staring back up at her.

"I won't tell if you don't." He stated, a sparkle to his eye, and she knew he wasn't making fun of her. This was serious and he was treating it as such. She loved her Yankees, but she didn't want to offend them, or have her love for them come into question.

"Pajamas." She stated with a nod. "So I didn't have to bring my own."

"You need anything else?" Peter pressed and she considered his offer for a second before slowly shaking her head no. Honestly, she was good for the moment, this was okay, he wasn't treating her like a child even though she sort of felt like one. He was genuine in wanting her to be comfortable and she very much appreciated that. "All you have to do is ask if you change your mind."

"Okay." She gave him a nod and gingerly set the t-shirt on the bed. He offered her his hand and she made her way to her feet, letting him slip his arm around her shoulders as he led them back to the living room.

She flopped down onto the couch next to him, but this time she was pressed tight against his side, even leaning on him a little bit. She nabbed her original slice of pizza and took a bite of it before he could say anything more. He followed suit and before they were done their first slices, the Yankees were on the television and were up to bat.

"I'm really glad you're here." Peter stated softly. Riley peered over at him and found herself genuinely smiling at his statement.

"Me too." She agreed. "At least for now. I'll let you know when we get closer to bedtime."

"Fair enough."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"King me." Morgan grinned and threw her arm into the air in celebration. "You suck at checkers by the way."

"Yeah well I'm more of a chess guy." Sonny pouted, the two of sitting on opposite sides of the coffee table, a pillow under Sonny's butt and one of the couch cushions under Morgan's.

"We can play chess if you want, Riley has a really nice set, but I have to warn you, I'm pretty good. Not good enough to ever beat Ry but her and I play all the time- well we used to." Morgan finished and a sad look crossed her face. "I like chess."

"You and Riley are actually really good friends, aren't you?"

"She's my other half."

Sonny nodded his head and looked at the checkers board, contemplating his next move. He wasn't entirely sure why they had decided on checkers but Morgan was at least enjoying herself and Sonny was happy just to spend time with her, no matter what they were doing.

"How'd you two meet?" Sonny posed and Morgan's face lit up.

"Oh my god, best thing ever. When we were in like third grade this little asshole Ricky Revere pushed me off the top of the monkey bars- now in all fairness, they really weren't all that high but I was a kid right so it felt like this gigantic drop. Anyways so here I am laying in the stones under the monkey bars crying my eyes out and Ricky was standing over me laughing and pointing and calling me a baby." Morgan paused, just long enough to watch Sonny skip a checker piece over one of hers and swipe it off the board. "Next thing I know, Riley's there and she shoves Ricky so hard that he falls and gets the wind knocked out of him. She was pretty much the most badass third grader there was, and you know what she said to him?"

"Not a clue."

"She goes 'Ricky Revere, you're a dick' and I…I just knew that we were going to be best friends." Morgan carried on, relishing in the memory. "It's gone both ways too, there was this guy who tried to get handsy with her at prom and I put a stop to that right quick."

"You tell me this stuff and it makes me wonder why you're so afraid you're going to lose her to some guy." Sonny chuckled.

"Because that 'some guy' is Peter Stone. He's perfect for Riley in every way." Morgan countered.

"Yeah and who's perfect for you?"

Morgan considered his words, wondering how she could answer. She then thought about how Riley would answer who she thought was perfect for Morgan. She'd want a guy who was confident not cocky, romantic but not a total sap, smart but not superior- hell Riley would probably tell her that she thought Sonny Carisi was the perfect match for Morgan.

Maybe she'd be right, but there was no way Morgan was going to say that to Sonny now. There was still a chance that she'd be able to keep her secret- Riley could easily fail at spending the night, but honestly, Morgan was kidding herself. Riley would do it; she could do anything she put her mind to.

She just wished she could be more like Riley when it came to confidence around males.

"Chris Evans, you know, Captain America." Morgan answered, her expression deadpan.

"Mo, be serious here." Sonny was borderline pleading with her and she contemplated whether or not to answer him. She could easily distract him with questions of her own or she could describe what she was looking for in a guy and hope to god he didn't think she meant him.

"I don't know." She let out a soft sigh. "I want a nice guy."

"Well that puts out half the world." Sonny replied, sarcasm lacing his tone.

"I just- I've seen all types of bad in the world and I just want someone genuine, someone who won't judge me for my quirks. I want a guy who will protect me but also know that I don't need protecting, someone who will look out for me but not be all up in my business all the time."

"That's more what I was hoping for." He teased. She flashed him a smile and made her move, jumping another of his checkers and making it to the opposite side of the board.

"King me." She said, less enthusiastically this time.

"What was your last boyfriend like?"

"He was kind of a knob." Morgan said quickly. "He wasn't like bad or anything, he was just kind of…I don't know, like a loveable idiot, you know? He didn't really get along with Riley but she was always making fun of him for not being all that smart when it came to real life, it sounds mean, but I think she knew he wasn't the guy for me."

"How come you don't just date Riley?" Sonny pressed, a cocky grin plastered on his face.

"We tried that once." Morgan fired back and when he gaped at her, she let out a bout of laughter. "Oh my god, yeah right. I'm not into girls and clearly Riley likes men. We're just best friends Sonny."

"Yeah but now it's a mental picture." Sonny pointed out, the grin right back on his face.

"Perv." She grumbled.

"You started it."

"Okay, well fine. I'm turning the tables; who's perfect for you?" Morgan questioned and he instantly shook his head. "No way, no fair, I had to answer!"

"It's all cheesy." Sonny stated. "I want a beautiful girl who's smart and funny and confident."

"Right like I haven't heard that before. You pretty much described Riley."

"Nah, I like blondes." Sonny shrugged. Huh, blonde like Rollins, obviously. Morgan rolled her eyes but didn't take offense to his comment. She knew people had a certain type, she was guilty of it too, writing off a guy before getting to know him because he didn't fit her physical feature requirements.

"Well blondes do have more fun." Morgan teased and tossed her hair over her shoulder in a dramatic fashion. "It's been scientifically proven."

"I may not have gone to engineering school like your friend but I know that's not true."

"Yeah, well, the perfect guy for me wouldn't challenge me." She jeered.

"I think the perfect guy for you would call you out on something like that." Sonny chuckled. "You'd get bored with a guy who believed everything you said, you like the fight."

Morgan narrowed her eyes in on him and wondered if what he said was true? She did like to banter, especially with him, but also with Riley. She couldn't imagine spending her life with some guy who just took her words to heart and didn't argue at all. She definitely would get bored, plus, it was true that she wasn't always right and sometimes she needed to be told just that.

"My perfect guy has to like my best friend too." Morgan stated.

"What's not to like about her?" Sonny shot back.

"Well, she's no Chris Evans." Morgan giggled.

All Sonny could do was move his checker because there was no way he could respond to that.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley was curled against Peter's side, her body on edge as they watched the bottom half of the ninth inning. There were Dodgers players on first and third with two out, the Yankees were only up by one run but the guy up to bat was one of the best players in the league. The Yankees could easily lose it here, and Riley was scared.

Peter wasn't as invested in the game as she was, but he still held her against him, feeling the tension in her body. The game had been a good distraction, they hadn't run into any serious problems since her pajama mini-fiasco but he also knew that once the game was over, they were headed for a whole different ballgame (figuratively).

When the Yankees pitcher struck out the last batter for the Dodgers, Riley threw her hands into the air in celebration and let out a loud cry of 'fuck yeah', Peter merely chuckling at her enthusiasm. Between the two of them, most of the beers were gone and all but one slice of pizza remained. Not bad for a three-hour baseball game.

"Dodgers games always make me nervous." Riley stated as she relaxed against him, resting her head against his shoulder. "They're always such a stacked team."

"The Yankees are just as good."

"Obviously." She snorted.

An awkward silence fell over the two of them and the postgame show started playing on the television, but Riley wasn't really interested in it, she was more interested in what he expected to happen now. The game was over, what else could they do except go to bed?

And if that was the case, was she expected to have sex with him, not that she'd be opposed to that, she just didn't know and she was very unfamiliar with how to initiate sex once she was already in bed and assumingly heading off to dreamland.

"So…" She trailed off and slipped her hands around his bicep, not wanting to move because she didn't know what was going to happen next.

"I sense that you're still nervous and I don't think it's because of the Dodgers."

Riley let out a sigh and wondered how someone could so easily see through her. She was usually so confident, so aware of what she wanted and how to get it, but this was an entirely different situation. There were so many unknowns and she was a little- no a lot- rattled.

"I have anxiety on a good day." She tried to brush it off but he sat up straighter on the couch and turned to look into her eyes. "Okay, seriously, I have anxiety problems, I take pills for it and I used to go to a counsellor. It's not a big deal, and it's mostly change that bothers me because I don't know the protocols."

"Then you tell me what you want to do now."

"I don't know." She answered honestly. "I just…this is all new for me, I don't know what I'm supposed to do, or what you expect me to do, you know?"

"I'm not expecting anything." Peter replied.

"Actually?"

"If there's something you want to do, that's fine, if not, I'm good. Either way, I'm just glad that you're here."

She stared at him, blinking her eyes slowly. Who the hell was this guy and why was he being so…so nice? The last guy she had spent the night with had been an absolute tool, but this was entirely different. If this was how it was supposed to be then she was really starting to regret not doing it earlier.

"I want…" She hesitated, mulling over what she was thinking. "I want to have sex with you, I mean I always want that so it's not really surprising."

"Riley-"

"For god's sake, look at you, you're like hot, really hot, but smart too."

"Riley-"

"And so far you're not a dick, which is nice."

"You expected me to be a _dick_?"

She offered him up a small shrug, "I don't know, I guess I just know a lot of them."

"That's kind of sad."

"Well hey now!"

"No, not in a bad way, I just meant that you don't know what it's like to have a man in your life who might be decent."

She tipped her head sideways, studying him carefully, "are you a decent guy?"

"Do you think I'm a decent guy?"

"I do." She nodded. "Which makes me want to have sex with you all the more."

"So why don't we go do that then?"

She remained silent but nodded her agreement. He stood up first and helped her to her feet, letting her slip her fingers between his as she took the lead, making their way into the bedroom. The lights remained off but once he was close enough, he flipped the switch on the lamp on the nightstand and she dropped down to sit on the edge of the bed. He pulled his shirt off, tossing it to the ground, Riley following suit and letting him get an eyeful of her black bra.

"You are so beautiful." He murmured and Riley stood up just long enough to slip her pants over her hips.

"I think you're pretty beautiful too." She replied with a small smile, pressing her palm against his bare chest. "I could look at you all day."

"You can do more than look."

"Condom." She gave his chest a light slap and he was quick to turn away from her, bending over and pulling the top drawer on his nightstand open. She waited patiently as she sat on the edge of the bed in nothing more than her underwear but when he didn't immediately turn back around, she started to feel the anxiety in her gut rise up again. "What?"

"I uh…I'm all out." He peered at her over his shoulder and she pressed her lips together.

"Right well…I guess it doesn't matter."

He closed the drawer with a shove and rushed over to the abandoned Cubs shirt, offering it up to her. She pulled it on over her head and took her bra off underneath it, letting it drop to the floor next to his bed. He was quick to take off his pants and sit down beside her, where she grabbed his one hand in both of hers and leaned against his shoulder, pressing a kiss against his skin.

"Sorry." He whispered.

"It's fine, I mean…" She trailed off, not entirely sure if she wanted to spit the next words out. If she said them, it meant opening a whole new can of worms and she wasn't sure she was ready for that just yet, but at the same time, she knew that if they were going to keep seeing each other, then eventually he'd find out anyways.

Stuffing the words back down, she decided against it and simply remained sitting next to him, holding his hand. She could feel her chest tighten ever so slightly but it wasn't because of him not having protection, it was for a whole other reason, a reason she wasn't sure she wanted to talk about but was fearful that she'd have to.

"Sleep?" Peter offered with a hopeful look. She nodded her head and let go of him when he pulled away, standing up and turning down the covers. She crawled across the bed and slipped under them, waiting for him to join her.

She felt him crawl in behind her and slip his arms around her middle, where she rested her palm on his forearm, letting him cuddle with her. She could feel her thoughts rushing through her head, but when the room fell into darkness, she tried to forced herself to relax. She was so close to making it through the night but suddenly all she wanted to do was brush her teeth, wash her face, do her normal night time routine.

No, no she could handle not doing that for one night, right? Ugh, why was this so hard, why was spending the night with a guy she genuinely liked rattling her to the core?

"Can I…" She started but trailed off. His lips pressed against her neck and she blew out a breath, trying desperately to fend off her nerves. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "I just feel like I should apologize."

"Not at all."

Yet she couldn't help but feel like maybe she was doing something wrong, she just didn't know what.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxxX** _

"This movie is terrible." Sonny whined but Morgan didn't really care what he had to say, she loved this movie and she loved the fact that he was warm even more.

She was leeching his body heat as she lay against his side, a blanket over them both, but that was as far as it went. He wasn't cuddling her; she was just using him to help keep warm and nothing more. Except it was totally more, at least to her it was. Hell, she could feel herself starting to crave the man next to her, which terrified her to no end. She wanted to take him to bed and see what he had to offer, and she knew without much thought at all, that he had a _lot_ to offer her.

But he didn't see her that way.

She didn't think he saw her as anything more than a friend, but yet he was here with her, keeping her company while her best friend was gone for the night. That had to mean something, right?

"It's not terrible, you're terrible." Morgan countered. "How can you not like a post-apocalyptic movie about a train that doesn't stop running and the people on board have to eat other people in order to survive?"

"This is one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen." Sonny argued. "What the hell's it called again?"

"Snowpiercer." Morgan answered. "And it's one of Chris Evans' greatest works of art."

"I don't often think of you as out of your mind but here it's all I can come up with."

"Whatever dude." She rolled her eyes. "If you'd rather, I can cream you at checkers some more instead."

He shook his head no and merely settled in to watch the last of the movie. He hoped it was almost over but it hadn't been all that long since she had started it, it had merely felt like forever because he didn't care for this particular movie.

"I'd rather watch this." Sonny said and Morgan let out a low laugh. She got herself comfortable against him and wrapped her arms around his arm in order to get the maximum comfort that she could. "You warm enough?"

"Never." She giggled. The side of her head rested against his shoulder and she drew her legs up closer to them both, making herself as small as she could. "Hey can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Are you and Rollins on good terms yet?" She pressed. She knew that things were still a little awkward between her and Rollins but that didn't necessarily mean much. If Carisi had fixed things, then maybe Morgan could take a shot and talk to her fellow detective in an attempt to clear the air.

"Yeah I don't know about that."

"You ever sleep with her?" Morgan asked in a soft tone. "I'm not judging if you have-"

"No Mo." He shook his head, cutting her off. "I guess for a while I wanted it to happen, but she never reciprocated."

Morgan looked down at his hands and wondered why Rollins would be stupid enough to give up a guy like Sonny Carisi? He was nice, he was smart, he was funny, he was great on the eyes; he was pretty much perfect to her. Yet Amanda Rollins hadn't taken him when she had the chance? What the hell was wrong with her?

"She's got kids right, you ever think about playing dad to them?" Morgan wasn't sure she was ready for his answer but she had to know.

"They're good kids but they're not mine and they won't ever be."

"Do you _want_ kids?" Morgan kept asking, trying not to sound too much like an interrogation. There were just so many things she wanted to know about him and now seemed like as good a time as any to ask him.

"Yeah, one day."

"You're old so you should probably get on that." She teased and felt him tense ever so slightly under her grasp. Before she could mention it, he relaxed again and rested his chin on the top of her head. "How come you're not married?"

"Never found the right girl." Sonny answered, as if it was the easiest answer in the world. "You?"

"Because no man can handle my awesomeness." Morgan offered with a shrug.

"Mo not what I meant, I wanted to know if you thought about kids."

"I think so, yeah. It's not like I've got a guy worth thinking about that stuff with."

"Boy or girl?"

"One of each." Morgan stated proudly. "Though at this point in my life I feel like I'm still a child, so I don't know how that would go."

"Nah, you'd be a great mother."

"Sometimes I already feel like one, Riley's a handful sometimes." Morgan joked and he let out a polite chuckle. "It's really hard for me to see myself raising kids when I haven't had a serious boyfriend that was any good to me."

Sonny rested his palm against her thigh and she let out a sigh, letting her eyes fall shut as she found herself wondering what her and Sonny's kids would look like. God they'd be so cute and he'd be a great dad, but would that ever happen? In her head, it seemed highly unlikely, especially with the line of work they were in.

Rollins made it work though, and so did Liv, they both had kids and they seemed quite good at balancing work and home. Maybe she could do it too, even if she didn't find the right guy, there were other options. There were lots of kids out there who needed a home and surely she could provide that one day, right?

"You deserve so much Mo."

"So do you Sonny Bunny." She tried not to do it but she couldn't fight off the yawn that escaped her. Sonny didn't seem to mind though, he merely fell quiet and let her lay against him, not bothering to move, or suggest leaving- thank god for that. She was way too comfortable against him and he was so warm, and they had been having such a nice time together.

God why couldn't she just man up and tell this guy how she felt about him? Why was it so hard for her to say the words?

Morgan kept her eyes shut and thought about all the things she liked about Sonny and even as she felt herself drift off, she knew that he was the perfect guy for her.

All she had to do was make him see that too.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley could feel the pain in her chest spreading, she could feel her heart pounding and with each passing second, it was getting harder and harder to breathe. She needed to get out of the bed, she needed to get away from Peter before she went into a full-blown panic attack, and the first step to doing that was to slip out of his hold, hopefully without him noticing.

No such luck, as soon as she moved away from him, he woke up, "you okay?"

"Bathroom." Riley managed to get the word out without giving away that she was freaking out inside. She could handle this on her own, she could deal with it so long as she got somewhere where she could hide from him and not let him see how truly upset she was.

He reluctantly let her leave the bed and Riley managed to make it to the bathroom, closing the door behind her before flipping on the light. As soon as she spotted the mirror, she stared at herself and planted her hands on the edge of the sink, sucking in a deep breath through her nose and letting it out through her mouth.

She could get through this, she could fight off the awful tightening pain in her chest, calm herself down and go back out there- except tears were already welling up in her eyes and she was finding it really hard to breathe.

In through her nose, out through her mouth, except this time she choked back a sob and made a weird coughing noise instead. She sucked in a breath through her mouth instead and tried to hold it, staring at her face in the mirror. Tears were running down her face and her eyes were starting to redden from them, but she had to stop this, she had to get herself together.

Again she tried to suck air in through her nose but instead of getting it to release through her mouth, she let out the sob she had managed to choke off before. Why was this happening to her, why now, why here?

Riley gripped the edge of the sink so hard that her knuckles turned white and before she had a chance to lock the door, it was thrown open and Peter stood there, looking her over and immediately seeing the panicked look on her face.

"I can't breathe." She struggled to get the words out and he merely stared at her, not entirely sure what to do. She sucked in a breath through her mouth and held it, her entire body shaking as she did so. "I can't…"

"What's wrong?"

She turned her back to him and grabbed at her chest, silently willing the pain to go away but it only seemed to worsen. This was awful, this was not what she wanted to happen and now he had witnessed how broken she truly was. Why couldn't she have fought this off, why couldn't she have made it through the night without having a panic attack?

"Can you just…" she paused and sucked in some more air, struggling to breathe, "rub my back, please?"

His hand moved in soothing circles on her back at once and she tried to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth- a technique that her mother had tried to get her to adopt when she was younger, but it worked as well then as it was working now.

"Talk to me here." Peter pleaded and she shook her head, sucking in a huge breath and practically falling to sit on the edge of the tub. He dropped down to his knees in front of her and ran his palms up and down her thighs, trying desperately to soothe her, to calm her any way he could. "Whatever this is, it's okay, you're okay, I'm right here."

Lifting her hands up, she wiped at her eyes, forcing the tears away but they were cascading down her cheeks as fast as she could wipe them away.

"My chest hurts." She forced the words out and pressed her palms against the edge of the tub, sitting up as straight as she could in an attempt to trick the pain into leaving. "I have anxiety, I said that, and this is…oh god, I can't breathe."

"Hey, hey look at me." Peter commanded and she met his eyes, easily seeing the scared look on his face. "What can I do?"

"I don't know." She cried out and lifted her one hand up, rubbing it against the centre of her chest. "I usually don't…most of the time I know what's bothering me."

"But you don't now?" Peter asked, his hands still moving up and down her thighs.

"I do…" she blew out a shaky breath and sobbed at the same time, the pain in her chest swelling instead of ebbing. "I can't…earlier."

"What?"

"Earlier I said it didn't matter."

"Right." He tilted his head at her, confused by what she was getting at.

"No condom." She pointed out. "It honestly doesn't matter because I can't…I can't have kids."

His hands paused in their movements on her thighs but only for a second. He started right back in on running them over her skin, trying to calm her down.

"Riley…"

"The last time…" She felt the pain lessening but just the tiniest little bit. "The last guy I spent the night with told me that I was worthless because I can't have kids so I figured…I figured if I didn't put myself in that position again, then I wouldn't get hurt."

"This doesn't change how I feel about you." He murmured and she gently slipped off the edge of the tub, standing up instead and drawing him to his feet. His hands moved from her thighs to her biceps and she stared down at her feet.

"I guess…I just think that if this thing between us is going to…if we keep seeing each other, it's only fair." She struggled with the words but her breathing was evening out, the pain in her chest continuing to ease. "I can't have kids and I'm not saying you want them now but if that's something you want in general then I…I should go."

"Wait, no." He gently gripped her by the arms and kept her in front of him. She tipped her head back and looked up at him, tears still spilling from her eyes. "Don't go."

She sucked in a breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out, repeating the process a few more times. He let her breathe in and out, her tears slowing down but not stopping completely.

"I like you." He whispered, running his one hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ear. "And while this is a lot to take in, it's not going to chase me away."

Her eyes blinked quickly, tears spilling over her cheeks. His thumbs gently dragged across her face, brushing the tears away.

"Not even Morgan knows." She said softly.

"Riley-"

"It's okay. I'm sorry."

"No." He shook his head. "There's nothing to be sorry for. Okay? Just- we can go talk somewhere that's not my bathroom if you want."

"Yeah."

She wrapped her arms around his middle and walked with him back into the bedroom. He helped her back under the covers and climbed in with her, the two of them sitting in the pillows, her legs draped across his and his one arm wrapped around her back.

"I had a pretty massive infection in college and- I think I blocked a lot of it out but basically the gist is that I can't have kids."

"There's other options."

"Yeah." She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. "Not according to the guy I dated in college."

"Well he's clearly an idiot, plus he didn't deserve you."

She let out a choked snort and ran her hand over her face, brushing away the last remaining tears. She could feel the pain in her chest dulling to nearly nothing and her breathing was pretty much normal. Peter Stone was way different than the guy in college, the very guy who insisted that she was damaged goods if she couldn't have kids, kids that would've been biologically his.

"Do you?" She questioned, tipping her head back to get a better look at his face.

"Do I what?"

"Do you deserve me?"

"Only if you want me."

Riley smiled sadly and gave her head a nod, "I definitely want you."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

He didn't want to move her but his legs were starting to fall asleep, much like Morgan had, against his side though. She looked so peaceful and he could tell that she needed this sleep as much as the next person because he knew not having Riley home was really getting to her.

This girl beside him loved her best friend, and how could he fault her for that. The two girls were perfect companions in his eyes. They complimented each other, they balanced one another out and together, they seemed to hold the greatest female support system he had ever seen.

Morgan had pushed Riley to do things she didn't want to do but had maybe pointed her in the right direction when it came to ADA Stone. Riley didn't push back either though, which only made Sonny believe that Morgan only had her friend's best interests at heart. God he wished he had a friend like they did in each other, maybe one day he could, maybe one day, Morgan could fill that roll and if she was only ever his friend, he'd consider himself lucky.

But he wanted more, he just didn't know how to go about it. She clearly had a crush on someone else, and if that's who Morgan wanted, he wasn't going to get in the way. He just wanted her to be happy, even if that meant sacrificing his own heart.

With that thought in his head, he knew he had to get out of there, he had to leave before he did something he'd regret later. She was asleep, all he had to do was get her to her own bed so that she didn't wake up sore and achy from sleeping on the couch. He could handle that, right?

Sonny gently turned his body and propped her up so that she didn't simply fall to the couch when he moved. When he did make a play to stand up, he held her body up and gingerly lowered her against the cushions of the couch, debating whether or not he really wanted to chance moving her any further.

Riley's words flashed through his mind though: 'the girl could sleep through anything' and now was as good a time as any to test that out.

Bending down ever so slightly, he slipped his one arm under her knees and his other arm under her shoulders, steadily lifting her up and off the couch. She was limp in his arms but miraculously she had remained sleeping, soundly, if the small snore was any indication.

Perfect, this was all going so smoothly.

Wandering towards her bedroom, he stepped up beside the bed and gently laid her down, grabbing a spare blanket off the end of the bed and covering her up with it. When her body moved without him moving it, he stood stock still and watched as she curled into a ball. He was out of the woods, yes, good, now he could leave her in peace-

"You stay." She murmured, turning her head just enough so that she could spot him in her peripherals. "I don't want to be here alone."

"Mo-"

"No." She rolled onto her back, her eyes wide and clearly, she was awake now. God damn, he had been so close to dropping her and getting the hell out of there. "Please don't go."

"Morgan." He started but she pushed her body up into a sitting position and extended her hands towards him, motioning for him to join her on the bed.

"What if there's a spider, Riley always kills them." Morgan was nearly pleading with him and he knew there was no way he could up and leave this girl, not when she was looking at him with her bright, begging eyes. "I can't do this by myself."

"I'm sure you won't run in to any spiders." Sonny promised but she jerked up onto her knees and scooted to the edge of the bed, grabbing his hands and holding him there. "Mo I should go."

"You would leave me here all by myself?"

He gently removed her hands and let them fall between their bodies but she was quick to lean into him, hugging him tight.

"I won't…I'm not going anywhere Mo."

She continued to hug him, not wanting to be alone in the apartment. She was police, she knew she could handle it by herself but having Sonny with her made her feel better, made her feel less alone, which is exactly what she was without Riley there.

She hated the idea of being in their apartment without Riley, even if she knew she was with a respectable man like Peter Stone. It was just too ingrained into her, she cared too much, had witnessed Riley with too many men. She just hated the idea of going to bed when her friend wasn't home safe and sound.

"What are you going to do if she ever moves out?" Sonny asked, his tone lighter and joking. She scowled and peeled away from him, turning her back as she freed herself from her bra without managing to take her shirt off. She moved back around to face him and worked away at pulling the covers down on her bed, climbing under them to keep warm.

"That's not happening any time soon."

"Yeah but one day-"

"Either I find a man of my own, or I move in with her and Stone, who I'm assuming will be keeping her for a long time." Morgan explained. "She's my best friend, I will fight him for her."

"He's a pretty good guy, I think he'd probably give up before you actually had to fight him." Sonny teased. "Seriously though Mo, what happens to you if her and Stone get super serious, I mean, what if they get married?"

"What?" Morgan shook her head. "I don't know, I don't want to think about that."

"Okay, okay." He raised his hands in surrender, clearly seeing how stressed he was making her by asking her more and more questions. "I just mean I can't stay with you every time Riley stays over with whoever."

"Why not?" Morgan countered, her body going rigid as she realized what she actually said. Oh shit, she had gone there, she had implied that maybe she wanted him around her more often, or at the very least she implied that she was using him much like Rollins had been. "I mean, we're friends, you could keep me company every now and then, right?"

Sonny merely shook his head in amusement and climbed onto the bed, making sure to stay on top of the covers but using the spare blanket to cover his legs. Morgan quickly curled up against his side, leeching his body heat to keep herself warm.

She silently thanked god that he was such a nice guy who wouldn't leave her when she needed him, but she also knew that she wouldn't be able to depend on him to spend the nights with her in the future unless he felt the same way about her as she did about him.

Since it didn't look like Riley was coming home any time soon, she had to start figuring out how she was going to tell him that she liked him.

For now though, she'd enjoy his company, she'd enjoy cuddling with him, everything else seemed like a problem for later.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

The next time Riley opened her eyes, she could spot sunlight peeking through the curtains, which meant that she had made it the entire night with Peter. She had officially won and Morgan had lost.

Except winning was almost the last thing on her mind at that very moment, the first thing was how early it felt because she was still so desperately tired, and the second was how she had told the man who's arms were wrapped around her about her deepest secret that not even Morgan knew about.

Yeah, right, that had happened, right after she had a panic attack in his bathroom in the middle of the night- like that wasn't embarrassing at all.

On the bright side though, Peter hadn't let her go when she offered to leave, and he had said that he still wanted to be with her, so maybe it wasn't all bad.

"It's still early." Peter murmured behind her and she let out a soft sigh, this time it was one of contentment. She felt cozy, warm, safe, in his arms and part of her didn't ever want to move, but another part of her wanted to get home so that she could see Morgan and make sure her friend was okay. "We don't have to get up if you don't want to."

"Yeah but what I _really_ want to do, we can't because _someone_ ran out of condoms."

"Hey…okay yeah that's on me."

"I'm kidding." Riley let out a little laugh and rolled onto her back, his arms remaining around her and she curled against his chest. "I like you even if you don't put out."

"Same here."

She was really starting to love spending time with this man, which normally would have terrified her to no end but somehow it just felt right. Peter Stone was a great guy, and she didn't want to give him up for anything.

Odd, that wasn't her normal modus operandi, but nothing about what she had been doing with the ADA was normal for her. He was the first guy in over ten years that she had spent the night with, the first guy in a long time she even bothered to sleep with twice, and the only guy for as long as she could remember that she _wanted_ to be with for a long time to come.

"If we get up, I can make breakfast." Riley offered, not entirely sure how capable he was in the kitchen. She didn't mind though; breakfast was easy to cook and it was the least she could do for him after he found her melting down in his bathroom.

"You don't have to."

"I'm starting to get the feeling that I don't actually have to do anything when I'm with you."

"You don't, not if you don't want to."

"Yeah but I want to." She smiled and lifted her hand up, running it through his hair, dragging her nails across his scalp and eliciting a delighted moan. "You're pretty much my favourite person…male person anyways."

"Alright, you don't have to keep buttering me up, I'm yours."

She let out a single bark of laughter and made a move to sit up but he held on tight to her, keeping her at his side as he buried his face into her neck, pressing his lips against her skin. She squirmed in his hold but eventually gave up and let him continue with his ministrations; he was far too good with his mouth for her to fight it.

Once he stopped though, she let out a breath and curled into his hold further, seriously debating whether or not she wanted to get up. He held her, his hand running up and down her back in a soothing manner and she let her eyes fall shut, feeling the most at ease she'd been in a long damn time.

"Think you'll spend the night again soon?" He asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Uh yup, so long as you want me back for the night, I promise I'll try not to have any more melt downs in the bathroom but they're sort of unpredictable." Riley tried to tease but she knew there was way more truth to her words than she originally planned.

"You maybe want to talk more about that?"

"I can." She replied and opened her eyes, meeting his gaze almost instantly. "What do you want to know?"

"Whatever you want to tell me."

"Right." She stated and took a few seconds to consider how she wanted to go about explaining why she had freaked out last night.

It wasn't like she had some traumatic experience like a lot of people out in the world, but she still found herself feeling unworthy of feeling good about herself. Other days she felt fine, but the words of the guy from college had cut her deep, resurfacing at the most inopportune moments.

"There was this guy I was seeing back in college and we were pretty serious, so serious that I missed my period near the end of the semester and thought maybe I was pregnant. We weren't planning it but here I was, thinking it was happening." She paused and took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before letting it out. "I never told him, or anyone for that matter, I just went to the doctor on campus and well she told me that I wasn't pregnant, I had a pretty severe infection in my ovary. It was bad, like really bad, I was in the hospital for a little while but I never told the guy I was seeing why I was there."

"Seems like a pretty important thing not to tell him."

"I guess but I was pretty stubborn when it came to guys, I had it in my head that I didn't need one-"

"Unlike now." He teased and she leveled him with a glare, but smirked in agreement.

"Okay, I like my independence, sue me- wait don't, you'd probably win since you're a big shot ADA."

"Sue the pants off you." He murmured, nudging her shoulder with his nose.

"Again, you don't have to sue, just ask nicely." She countered. "Anyways…"

"Yes, anyways, you didn't tell your boyfriend why you were in the hospital."

"No I did not. I just let him think whatever and when I got out of there, I tried to pretend nothing was wrong, but by then, I had been told I most likely would never be able to have kids. I was in college, kids were the farthest thing from my mind but one night, the guy I was with was talking about our future after college and how he thought we could be that couple that got married and had kids. Well I let it slip that I couldn't and he _freaked_ out, claimed that I was damaged goods and a faulty female."

"Nope."

"Nope is right. But he scared me, made me think maybe if he couldn't want me after that, no one would."

"Hmm, I do."

"Still?"

"Still."

"Even if I have panic attacks and can't have kids, you still want to be with me?"

"Yes. Riley, you're the first woman that's made me feel like you do."

"You're the best sex I've ever had." She countered, a smug smirk plastered on her face. "So, since we can't do that right now, what do you say to breakfast?"

"I could eat…but maybe not food, not yet anyways."


	8. Chapter 8

Yes her morning had gone so well that, after breakfast, Riley had gotten in the shower with Peter, cleaned herself off and gotten dressed to go home. He had seen her off in a cab and she had left with a smile, which was still very present on her face when she approached the door to her apartment.

It was still quite early but Riley had figured Morgan would be up by now, when she opened the door though, it was evident that she was not. The whole apartment was dark and there was a little bit of a mess left in the living room, though nothing like the blanket fort the last time Riley had come home.

Shaking her head with a smile, Riley kicked off her shoes, made sure the door was locked, set her purse down and headed towards Morgan's room, poking her head inside and letting out a cackle of laughter so loud that she caused the two people curled up in her roommate's bed to jump, which only served to make Riley laugh harder.

"I feel like one of these mornings I'm going to come back and find you two naked in bed and not fully clothed." Riley teased, flipping the light switch on and catching Morgan's death glare. Sonny was rubbing his face, peering around the room as if he couldn't remember where he had fallen asleep, but Riley knew the two of them knew exactly what was going on and where they were.

"Does that mean you're having more sleepovers with Peter?" Morgan asked with a yawn.

"Hopefully." Riley answered with a shrug.

"Good for you." Sonny piped up and slowly relaxed into the bed. What Morgan didn't know, nor did Riley, was that Sonny had a hard time falling asleep once he was curled up in Morgan's bed with her. He had too many thoughts running through his head about the girl next to him and he couldn't calm his mind enough to fall asleep. He was exhausted and he didn't want to move, as much as his head was screaming at him to do so. "Future reference though, Morgan doesn't like when you're not here because apparently you kill the spiders."

Riley laughed and waved a hand at them both, "I do, but only with a shoe or flat object. I'm sure you could easily do that job instead of me."

"Maybe." Sonny offered with a shrug and tucked his hands behind his head, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the girls long enough to slip back into a fit of slumber.

"She has her gun for intruders but she can't shoot a spider on the wall." Riley joked and turned her back to the two of them, hesitating and peering over her shoulder at her roommate. "I'm heading out to go dress shopping later."

"Dress shopping?" Morgan cocked her head sideways.

"Yeah, I got invited to the charity ball thing…Peter asked me."

"Oh, the NYPD gala." Morgan nodded her head in understanding. "Right, yeah, hey, I'll be going to that too."

"Me three." Sonny threw in without even opening his eyes.

"Yeah Carisi but I wasn't about to invite you to come with me to find a dress." Riley snorted. "Or new shoes."

"New shoes?" Morgan furrowed her eyebrows. "Don't you have enough shoes."

"A girl can never have enough shoes. And anyways, I promised the ADA that I'd get new 'fuck me' heels. You coming with me or not?" Riley pressed and Morgan ran a hand through her hair in order to give her a few extra seconds to register what her friend was asking of her.

"Yes." Morgan replied slowly. "I could also do with a new dress."

"And 'fuck me' heels?" Sonny's voice was pretty low but both girls heard it, Riley stifling a laugh and Morgan slapping him in the gut. He let out a grunt but didn't move from his position on the bed.

"I'll see what I can do Sonny Bunny." Riley chuckled and she finally disappeared from sight, leaving Morgan alone in her room with her partner, her partner that she had feelings for, the same partner she had just spent the night with, and not for the first time.

God this was so screwed up. If she didn't tell the man how she felt, then he'd never know and where would that leave either of them? She'd be no better than Rollins and he'd be free to go after whoever he wanted.

She had to figure out when and how to tell him before things went wrong.

"Come on, we can have some cereal and coffee." Morgan offered, much the opposite of the French toast Riley had conjured up for her and Peter Stone. "Then I guess I'm going dress shopping. You joining?"

"According to Riley I wasn't invited." Sonny popped one eye open and a grin spread across his lips. "But thanks for thinking of me."

"Come on." Morgan grumbled and twisted her hips sideways, planting her feet on the ground. She offered Sonny a hand but he ignored it, climbing out the other side of the bed and meeting her at the door.

"Yes, I believe I was promised cereal."

"I even have the good stuff: raisin bran." Morgan joked.

"I'm surprised a mature girl like you doesn't eat fruit loops."

"Ha, it's funny because that's exactly what I eat."

Because mature was something she wasn't sure she was totally ready to be, and if eating fruity, fun coloured cereal kept her young at heart just a little while longer, then Morgan was all for it.

What better way was there for her to live?

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley was way more enthused about dress shopping than Morgan was, but then again, Riley had a date, Morgan did not. It didn't help that every five seconds Riley was reminding her that she had won and Morgan now had to tell Sonny that she liked him, hell it was all Morgan had been thinking about since she had been rudely woken up that morning.

Saying goodbye to Sonny had been sort of awkward but she made sure to thank him for keeping her company, and even the cuddles he provided her. She wasn't sure what he was thinking when he left, but he did so with a small smile on his face.

Telling him she liked him was going to be damn hard.

Maybe she'd figure out how to tell him before the gala and the two of them could go together as each other's dates and not just as friends. Maybe she'd enlist Riley's help to make that happen, but first, she had to find a dress to wear to the shindig, and it was starting to feel like an impossible task.

Riley already had about three dresses hanging outside of a dressing room to try on but Morgan was so out of it that she was having trouble finding anything that she even _wanted_ to try on. When Riley came up behind her, she simply let out a groan and threw her hands up in the air in defeat.

There were so many dresses in this store but Morgan's head wasn't in it.

"We can do this." Riley encouraged, knowing that when it came to dresses and high heels, it was definitely not Morgan's forté. The girl was a cop, she needed practical clothes, not skirts and stilettos. "One thing at a time, what colour were you thinking?"

"Blue?" Morgan countered, but she didn't sound even remotely confident.

"Blue." Riley repeated the word, testing the word out. "Sky blue, royal blue, navy blue?"

"Blue like ocean waves." Morgan sighed.

"Blue like Sonny Bunny's eyes?" Riley offered up with a smile. "I was going to suggest sexy ruby red but you could definitely pull off Sonny Carisi blue."

"Am I weird?"

"Yeah." Riley retorted. "In all fairness, I thought you were weird before Sonny showed up in your life though."

Morgan stuck her tongue out at her friend but let Riley take her by the arm and lead her across the store where there were way more blue coloured dresses. Upon being released, Morgan stood just behind Riley and watched as she flipped through the first rack, barely setting her eyes on one dress before moving on to the next.

She envied how quickly Riley worked when she was shopping but part of Morgan feared that her friend would skip over the perfect dress. It wasn't often that the two of them got out shopping together and when they did, it was even more unlikely that they'd be shopping for similar items.

"Blue." Riley said out loud, almost like a prayer, or a chant. "Sonny Carisi blue."

"Ry, I could just as easily go for black."

"Black is the colour you wear when you're asking to be fucked." Riley replied without even breaking her rhythm.

"That why you wear it all the time?" Morgan asked, her eyes locked on her friend, who didn't answer with words but nodded her head yes. "Huh, okay. So are you picking out a black dress?"

"Obviously." Riley countered, pausing only long enough to roll her eyes at Morgan's ridiculous question. "Black dress, new shoes, I'm going to be the arm candy to the ADA, I have to look amazing."

Morgan sucked in a nervous breath and wondered how well the gala would go for either of them. Riley was a woman of many talents and schmoozing was obviously one of them, but Morgan wasn't as adept at it. She didn't like being in a room full of people who were merely playing dress up for the night.

This time though, she'd be there, and so would Sonny. It came down to one simple word: opportunity.

"Blue." Riley smiled and her hand whipped away from the rack with a dress in her hold. Morgan looked at it and nodded her approval. It was definitely the right colour but she wasn't entirely sure about the style, but Riley knew what she was doing most of the time, the least she could do was try it on.

Riley shoved the dress at Morgan and she took it, giving Riley the opportunity to go right back to surfing through the dresses on the rack.

"You and Stone have a good night last night?"

"Yeah, the Yankees won so that was a bonus."

"That's what you tell me?" Morgan scoffed.

"Yes." Riley countered. "We didn't have sex because he didn't have any condoms left."

"Seriously?" Morgan stared at her friend.

"Nope."

"And you were okay with that?"

"Morgan." Riley stopped and planted a hand on her hip, leveling Morgan with a glare. "You can do other things that don't require condoms."

Morgan lifted one hand up in surrender. Okay, fair point, but still, Riley was the type of girl who liked getting laid, it sort of- okay definitely- surprised her that Riley spent the entire night with a guy and didn't have sex with him.

"Cuddling." Morgan listed.

"Yeah." Riley gave a nod of her head and went right back to flipping through the dresses on the rack. When she didn't find any more, she moved to the next rack and began looking at those dresses. "You seem to be familiar with cuddling."

"I fell asleep on him and he carried me to bed."

"Great but that doesn't explain why he spent the night." Riley stated.

"Because I asked him to."

Riley scoffed at her words, "since I won, have you given any thought as to how you're going to tell your partner that you love him?"

Morgan stood frozen in place and wasn't entirely sure how to respond. She honestly had no idea how to tell Sonny that she liked him, she didn't even know where to start. Yeah, sure Stone had told her not to get him drunk, but that wasn't much help at all.

She was seriously debating just going to his place, knocking on the door and blurting it out right then and there. She'd need some sort of liquid courage for that, not enough to be considered drunk, just enough to not want to run away at the appearance of the man in question.

"I really like the idea of writing him a note." Morgan said, a tone of finality to her voice, but when Riley simply laughed at her, she shrunk back a little bit.

"You got this you weirdo. Just look him in the eye and tell him you like him." Riley offered up. "You're a badass woman Mo. You kick ass every day, you literally stopped a serial rapist by jamming your thumb in his eye, so why does something as easy as telling a guy you like him freak you out so much?"

"He could reject me." Morgan answered, her answer genuine and honest.

"So what?"

"Ry, it's…we have to work together. I can't be partners with a man who rejects me like that."

"Well how do you know he _will_ reject you, who wouldn't want to be with you?" Riley apparently had more confidence in Morgan than she did in herself. It was sort of nice, but at the same time, Riley had no idea what she was feeling. Riley didn't get rejected, she did the rejecting. "If he doesn't want to be with you then he's an idiot and I will gladly take you out and get you so drunk, you won't even remember his name."

Morgan spat out a laugh at the same time that Riley produced another fancy blue dress, this one looking much more Morgan's style. The blue was the perfect hue and it looked like it would hug her top half quite nicely while flowing out at the hips to a looser look. Yes, this could easily be her dress.

"I'm ready to try these on." Morgan announced and Riley pressed her lips together. "I really like this one."

Riley merely nodded her head and walked with her pal to the dressing rooms, where three dresses, two in black and one in a deep navy blue, were already hanging on the outside of one of the doors. Morgan gripped her two dresses and wandered into the room next to Riley's before shutting the door and locking it, hearing Riley do the same beside her.

When the two girls stepped out again, Morgan had on the first dress, which looked okay on her but she only put it on because she didn't want the only dress she tried on to be the one she ended up buying, plus Riley liked seeing her in fancy dresses, so she'd give this one thing to her friend.

Riley herself was in a figure-hugging black gown that went up to her neck and wrapped around it like a collar. The back was open down to just above her butt and as great as Riley looked in it, Morgan gave her head a shake.

"Too slutty." Morgan stated. "You're a woman with a man now, not a woman _looking_ for a man."

"Fair." Riley shrugged, taking in the sight of Morgan in the first dress, which looked fine, it was a simple design, A-line with spaghetti straps with a top that hugged her breasts perfectly. There was no showiness to it, nothing spectacular. "Colour's decent but you could do with something a lot more 'ba-bam'."

Ironically enough, Morgan knew exactly what her friend meant by that term and she totally agreed. The dress she currently had on was boring, it definitely wouldn't catch Sonny's attention and even if it did, it certainly wouldn't keep it.

The two of them returned back to their dressing rooms, shutting the doors behind them. Morgan could hear Riley humming as she changed and she couldn't help but feel like maybe Riley was right about her. She was a badass, she could do this, she could tell Sonny Carisi how she felt, right?

Oh god, she still wasn't sure, but what she was sure of was the dress that she had on now.

The blue- which was the perfect shade- dress hugged her body in all the right places, the halter style covering her up but also making her look amazing. The skirt hugged her hips and flared out around her calves like a mermaid style but left her feeling like an absolute queen. This…this was her dress.

When she stepped out to see Riley, her friend's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, apparently, she felt the same about the dress.

"Jesus you look like a goddess!" Riley squealed, reaching her hand out to run down Morgan's side, smoothing away the wrinkle that had taken up residence there. "Absolutely would become a lesbian for you in that dress."

Morgan couldn't help but laugh at her friend, who was absolutely serious. Riley couldn't stop staring and when Morgan turned around to give her the whole view of the dress, Riley remained silent.

"I like this one." Morgan said softly.

"You should, it's perfect."

"Your dress however, still on the slutty side." Morgan pointed out and Riley reached down, holding the two pieces of deep navy-blue material together that formed a slit high up on her thigh.

"Yeah I didn't realize how far up the slit went." Riley looked down at it and shook her head at how close she was to being able to see her underwear. "I'll go try on the last one, you better be getting that dress though."

Morgan merely grinned and watched as Riley disappeared back into the dressing room. Morgan hesitated for a few more seconds, looking at herself in the mirror outside her room before gliding back in and taking the dress off, reluctantly so.

She couldn't wait to put it back on for the gala and she hoped that Sonny would like it too, even if they weren't there as dates.

She held the dress in her hands carefully and sat on the leather stool while waiting for Riley to open the door, once she did, she was not disappointed.

The last dress was black and had a slit like the last one but definitely not as far up. It was strapless and hugged her chest perfectly, the satin material giving off just enough elegance that would match Stone without making Riley look like a call-girl.

"I can show off my 'fuck me' heels with this slit." Riley smirked.

"And you don't look like a slut!"

"Hmm, just because I don't look like one, doesn't mean I'm not." Riley teased and twirled around, the skirt part flaring out ever so slightly. "Black 'fuck me' dress needs new 'fuck me' heels."

"Is it weird how perfect together you and Stone are, yet he seems…"

"A little classier than I am?" Riley finished for her friend and Morgan fought off the urge to smile. "It's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for Mo."

"Is Sonny quiet?" Morgan posed, wanting Riley's opinion on the matter.

"Not really. He's more of a talker to me. I bet he'd be pretty adventurous in bed, but not like freaky sex swings and awkward role playing adventurous, more like…more like less common positions adventurous."

"Right." Morgan nodded her head, wondering if maybe she had taken this too far. On one hand, it was nice that Riley didn't think Sonny was a total freak show when it came to sex, but the fact that Riley had even given it some thought meant that she had sized the man up and that made Morgan a little, tiny bit jealous.

"Don't worry, he's yours. And we'll make sure of it. Let's get these dresses paid for and head over to the shoe store, you're definitely going to need my help there."

Yeah, okay Riley wasn't wrong. Morgan had no idea what sort of shoes men appreciated and it was very clear that Riley knew exactly what she was talking about.

After all, she was the one with the many notches in her bedpost.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"I feel more confident already." Morgan stated, sarcasm lacing her words.

It had been a good hour of being home after finding the perfect pair of heels to go with their dresses and Riley was currently trying to teach her friend how to walk properly in them but Morgan wasn't used to the sky high heel on her shoes, she was used to comfortable, _practical_ shoes that she could run in in case the bad guys took off on her.

This was a whole new ballgame for her and so far Morgan was not having much luck walking across the living room in her new high heels.

At Riley's suggestion, she had gotten the ones with the ankle strap, which would help to keep them on, and that meant Morgan wouldn't have to worry about losing her footing in case her shoe slipped off momentarily. They were open toed and were fashioned out of the most beautiful colour of silver that Morgan had ever seen on a shoe. The diamond accents on the strap buckle had been the icing on the cake and if these weren't the perfect 'fuck me' shoe, then Morgan wasn't sure what was.

The only problem was that she wasn't very good at walking in them. Morgan figured that was a big problem but Riley had insisted she could get her walking in them easily in no time. After an hour, she was barely any better than when she had first put them on.

Riley was sporting her new heels as well, which were a smooth black leather stiletto with a matching bow on the back of the heel. She also went with an ankle strap because they were extra cute, but Riley definitely knew how to work them, and Morgan was frustrated with how easily it seemed to come to her friend.

"I need flats." Morgan grumbled as she leaned against the wall near her bedroom for support. She was slowly making her way around the perimeter of the room but she had yet to venture too far away from the wall for fear that she would fall flat on her face. Riley was strutting back and forth across the room, even pretending she was a model by throwing a pose every time she reached the spot near the end of the coffee table. "I can't do this."

"You just need to wear them for like a few hours, then you can take them off when the gala's all over." Riley explained.

"Wedges?" Morgan pleaded and scooted along the wall a bit further.

"Oh my god, you're the worst at being a girl sometimes." Riley rolled her eyes and strode over to stand behind Morgan. She grabbed her by the hips and hauled her back away from the wall, turning her on the hardwood floor so that her back was to the wall. "Heel then toe, heel then toe."

She nudged Morgan forward and Morgan placed the heel of her shoe on the floor before following up her movement by pressing the ball of her foot against the floor next. She repeated the action with her other foot but this time it looked a little bit smoother than her original attempt.

"Ry, this is hard." Morgan whined.

"So is taking down a serial rapist, but you did that." Riley pointed out and stepped around Morgan, taking up a stance beside her. "Shoulders back, chin up, and think about how awesome it felt when you got Bitey McBite-face."

"What's that got to do with walking in heels?"

"Ha, everything. It's a mindset Mo." Riley demonstrated by pushing her shoulders back, holding her head high and stepping forward with a confidence that impressed Morgan. "Think things like 'I am a god', 'I am a queen', 'I will rule the world', or my personal favourite; 'I will ruin you'. Say it out loud when you walk for the first little bit, it totally helps."

Morgan took another step, remembering to put her heel down first. She took a few steps and peered back at Riley who was smiling at her encouragingly.

"I will _ruin_ you." Morgan stated, her voice shaky and not at all confident.

"Will you?" Riley snorted. "It didn't really sound threatening."

"Riley-"

"Ah, yes, like that." Riley cut her off and poked her in the back of the shoulder.

"What?"

Riley strode forward, passing Morgan on her left side and as she did, she paused, turning on her heels and moving right back in the direction that she came before moving past Morgan on the right side. Was she being serious right now, Riley was literally walking circles around her, showing off her mad walking skills.

"I will ruin you, I will kick your ass if you so much as look at me funny and if you _do_ look at me funny, I will shove my finger into your eye socket so that you'll never be able to look at another woman clearly ever again." Riley ranted and Morgan managed to take a few steps forward, her balance improving with each step she took. "Hey, what did I say Mo, say it out loud."

"I am a badass." Morgan cried out and moved forward, her pace increasing as she went. "I am a goddess, I own you."

Riley's eyes widened in pride as Morgan continued to stride across the room, gaining confidence with each and every step. When she was a couple of feet from the door, she stopped and glanced over her shoulder meeting Riley's gaze.

"Now try saying it just in your head." Riley instructed, watching intently as Morgan walked in a half circle so that she was facing Riley instead of the door. She remained silent but carried herself across the room as if she was still saying things out loud, her shoulders were back, her chin was up, she put her heel down first then the toe.

Yes! Ha, she was doing it, she was really doing it!

Okay so maybe she was still a little shaky and way less confident than Riley but she had some time before the gala, she would keep practicing until the night of the ball (as Riley liked to call it). This could work!

"Look at you go Morgan!" Riley clapped and strutted to meet her, enveloping her in a hug as they met. Morgan couldn't help but beam and when she pulled away, she had a daring look in her eye. "What?"

"I'm going to tell him."

"Tell him? Him who?"

"Sonny."

"Oh!" Riley gasped. "Yay."

"Right now."

"What? Wow, uh okay." Riley stared at Morgan, who bent down to undo her heels, making quick work of the straps.

When she kicked them off, she met Riley's confused gaze, "I'm just going to go over to his place and tell him when he opens the door."

"Well alright then." Riley gave her a reassuring nod. "You go then Mo."

Morgan gave Riley another hug and took off for the front door, pausing only long enough to slip on her usual shoes, which were definitely not high heels. As soon as she was out the door, Riley flopped onto the couch and let out a soft giggle.

"Oh 'fuck me' heels, you _are_ magic aren't you."

Morgan ran down the hall and hopped in the elevator, wanting nothing more than to take advantage of her newfound courage before it ran out. She hit the streets, waved down a cab and practically yelled at the driver where she wanted to go. When he pulled over in front of Sonny's building, she threw some cash at him and lunged out of the cab, running as fast as she could for Sonny's door.

When she found it, she stopped and stood in front of it, her body shaking with excitement and also a bit of nerves. She could do this though she was a badass warrior woman who took down a serial rapist.

Bringing her hand up, she knocked on his door and waited, her heart pounding so hard she swore it was going to come right out of her chest, and her blood pumping so fiercely she swore to god she could feel it in every one of her veins.

When Sonny pulled the door open about halfway, she beamed at him and brought her hands upwards, running them through her hair if only for something to do.

"Mo?"

"Yeah, look I need to talk to you."

"Now?"

"Yeah now, and it's important so you have to pay real close attention." Morgan carried on, more excited than anything to finally be in front of Sonny Carisi ready to tell him how she felt about him.

"Okay doll, uh, just…hang on." He pushed forward and she stepped back, letting him step out into the hall and gingerly pulling the door shut behind him. She was practically hopping from one foot to the other, her body not stopping as it vibrated with a combination of nerves and excitement.

"Sonny I like you." She confessed, feeling the weight of the world lifting off her shoulders almost immediately, except when she met his gaze, he looked confused, and maybe even a little unsure. "I like you, a lot, like I have feelings for you. I want to be more than just your friend-"

"Mo…"

"And I needed you to know that. So yeah, there, I like you, like really like you Sonny."

He merely stared at her, his eyes blinking slowly and with each passing second that he didn't say anything, she felt her heart dropping. No, this wasn't what was supposed to happen, he was supposed to tell her that he felt the same way and that he'd love to take her out to dinner or something, hell anything was better than the awkward silence that had fallen between them.

Well anything except for the feminine voice that called out to him from inside the apartment.

"Sonny, what's going on?" The voice asked and Morgan opened her mouth to say something but she didn't have the words.

This was all wrong, and maybe it was her fault for being so spontaneous, but Sonny Carisi was not supposed to have a girl at his apartment at the same time that she confessed her feelings for him.

"I see." Morgan ground out and turned on her heels, but Sonny's hand grabbed her wrist.

"Mo I can explain-"

"No, I get it. This is my fault." She said, more to herself than to him. She ripped her arm out of his grasp and broke out into a jog back down the hall, ignoring him as he half-heartedly called out to her.

She wasn't going to turn around, she wasn't going to stop, this had all been a mistake.

Stupid Sonny for being so damn nice to her and cuddling with her when Riley had left her alone. Stupid Riley for instilling her with false confidence and making her believe that she actually had a chance with Sonny. Stupid everyone and everything.

"Fuck." Morgan growled out as she erupted through the front door of the apartment, stumbling out onto the street. She balled her hands into fists and looked up at the sky, tears welling up in her eyes. "God damn it!"

She stood there all of five seconds longer before starting the long trek home. She could definitely use the time to calm herself down and replay the conversation in her head. Hell, maybe she could pinpoint where it had all gone wrong.

It didn't matter though, after only a few steps, the tears spilled from her eyes and she fell against the outside wall of the building. How stupid could she have been?

Sonny Carisi wasn't interested in her, he never had been, and she had been foolish enough to think maybe he was.

Forcing herself away from the building, she walked up to the curb and looked down the street, luckily a cab was coming her way. She threw out her hand and thanked the heavens above for it stopping. After everything she had just been through, the last thing she wanted to do was walk home crying and leave herself vulnerable to the dangers of the world.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley heard the door open before she spotted Morgan but as soon as she did, she knew it hadn't gone well. There were tears streaming down Morgan's face and she threw the front door shut, heading for Riley and collapsing onto the couch next to her. Riley quickly took her in a hug and stroked her back, wondering just how badly it had gone.

She had thought for sure that Sonny Carisi liked Morgan and usually she wasn't wrong about this sort of thing, but yet here Morgan was, crying into her arm like a scared, sad child who wanted nothing more than comfort.

"Oh Mo, I'm so sorry." Riley whispered, feeling Morgan burying her face deeper into her shoulder. Riley hugged her tighter in response and tipped her head back, letting out a sigh of defeat. What had gone wrong?

"There was a girl there." Morgan whimpered, tilting her head away from Riley just enough so that her words weren't muffled by her arm. "I heard her and he just… _why_ was there a girl there?"

"I don't know Morgan." Riley moved her one hand upward and dragged it over her head, petting her in another attempt to calm her. "But you can bet that I'm kicking his ass."

"Not now though, please, don't leave me."

"Oh no Mo, no I won't leave you." Riley murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her friend's head. "You'll always have me and I'll be right there for you whenever you need me, but I will kick the shit out of him the next time I see him."

"Mmkay." Morgan let out a soft sigh and reached up, rubbing at the tears on her face. She sucked in a shaky breath and Riley felt her curl up closer to her, seeking even more warmth and comfort.

Riley felt really bad about the whole thing, she should've held back and not let Morgan get so confident, she should have lied to her and told her that guys were stupid and she didn't need Sonny to like her. God, this was just the worst because she hated to see Morgan upset and it happened so rarely that when it _did_ happen, it made it all the more intense.

"He's stupid." Riley stated.

"Yeah."

"You deserve better."

"But why did there have to be a girl there?" Morgan whined and fresh tears welled up in her eyes. She let out a sob and shifted so that she was lying against Riley's middle, pressing her face into the side of her thigh as she continued to cry and sob. Riley repeatedly ran her had through Morgan's hair, feeling her own anger rising up to the surface.

Sonny Carisi didn't get to spend a couple of nights cuddling with Morgan only to have some girl on the side. He didn't get to be nice to Morgan, treat her decently and then turn around and see some other girl without telling her to her face. She had thought he was better than that, but apparently Riley had been wrong.

The next time she laid eyes on him, she was going to kick him so hard in the nuts that his grandchildren would feel it.

No one got to hurt Morgan, no one got to break her heart without being punished.

"Would you rather it be a guy?" Riley countered, trying to make a joke. Morgan turned her body and looked up at Riley, furrowing her eyebrows at the thought. "Okay, bad timing, sorry, you know I make jokes when I don't know what else to do."

"No, no it wasn't that." Morgan shook her head and let her head fall sideways so that she was looking at the television across the room. "I just…I already don't want to go to work on Monday."

"Then don't." Riley offered up nonchalantly. "I will give you one day for a pity party but after that, you have to go into work and just ignore him."

"Yeah, I'll just take Monday off." Morgan nodded her head. "And I'll skip the gala."

"Nooo." Riley leaned forward ever so slightly, gingerly running the tip of her index finger up Morgan's nose and along the space between her eyes. "You can't _not_ go to the gala."

"But _he'll_ be there."

"Yeah, which means you have to go, wear your new sexy dress and 'fuck me' heels and show him what he's missing out on." Riley explained.

"What if he brings _her_?"

"Then accidentally spill something on her. Bitch clearly deserves it, in fact, spill something on him too, motherfucking asshole." Riley spat the last couple of words out and Morgan seemed to relax against her. Yes, this she could do, she could certainly come up with ways for Morgan to get her revenge. If Sonny Carisi got to break Morgan's heart, the least she could do was make him pay for it.

"Ry, I don't know."

"I do. You _have_ to go. Don't let some dick-bag be the reason you had to waste a perfectly good dress."

Morgan reached out and grabbed Riley's hand, holding it tight against her chest. She was glad that she had a friend like her, she just didn't know if she could do it. She didn't want to go to the gala and see Sonny with some other woman, not when she had managed to confess how she felt about him and he just stared at her.

Did he think she was insane, or stupid? God, he probably just thought she was super pathetic, and honestly, it's not like Morgan could blame him for that. She had been the one to show up at his doorstep, she had been the one to confess that she liked him out of nowhere.

Maybe this whole thing was a mistake. Morgan never should've challenged Riley, then she could've carried on pining over Sonny from afar like any normal person would.

"I'll bake some brownies for you to take to him on Tuesday." Riley offered, watching as Morgan stared at her, confusion very evident on her face. "Oh my god, have you never done this 'revenge' thing, I'll make them with laxatives."

"Riley." Morgan scolded but when her lips curled upwards into a smile, she knew that having Riley on her side was the best she was ever going to get.

This girl had her back, and she knew nothing would ever change that.


	9. Chapter 9

When Riley wandered into the apartment after working all day Monday, she took a step back at the sight of Morgan, who was laid out on the couch in her pajamas and a sour look on her face. There was a court show playing on the television and once Riley slipped off her heels, she set her sights on her roommate, who looked more hungover than anything.

God what had Morgan done to herself besides let herself go? She looked awful, but Riley had only been gone for the day.

"Shower?" Riley quipped, wandering towards Morgan and crouching down in front of her face, blocking her from being able to see the television. Morgan rolled her eyes and reached out, pressing her palm against Riley's forehead in a sad attempt to push her head out of the way.

"No." Morgan whined and Riley moved her face out of the way before Morgan could get her grubby hands on her face. "Don't want to move."

"Morgan." Riley stood up and took a step back, lowering herself down to sit on the edge of the coffee table. She pried the remote out of Morgan's hand and flicked the television off, Morgan finally giving her the attention she wanted.

"Riley just leave me alone."

"No." Riley shook her head. "No way. You're my best friend and I'm not going to let you wallow any longer."

"But I want to wallow." Morgan pointed out, letting out a loud sigh as she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. "Sonny was supposed to be with me."

"I know but we can't force people to love us." Riley stated, her mind drifting to all the attempts she had made at getting men to sleep with her just so she could feel anything. She knew Morgan was hurting really bad, but she couldn't just let her friend give up on herself, or showering for that matter.

"I know that." Morgan scoffed, resting her forearm across her forehead. "But my heart hurts Ry, I'm not ready to move from the couch yet."

"Yeah and I'm also not letting you miss another day of work." Riley remarked. "Pull it together, the best revenge is showing a man that doesn't want you what he missed out on, hey, you think you could wear your 'fuck me' heels to work tomorrow?"

"No because I'm not going."

"Yes you are." Riley argued.

"You can't make me."

"I probably can, do you really want to test me Mo?" Riley leveled her friend with a glare but Morgan wasn't exactly paying attention to her. She was staring up at the ceiling, Riley wondering if she was even paying any attention. "Mo!"

"Why do you care so much?" Morgan asked in a mutter. "He hurt me."

"Yes and you shouldn't be the one suffering, you make _him_ suffer." Riley explained. "You walk in to work tomorrow morning with your head held high and you pretend that you don't even see him, that he's not even there."

Morgan slowly brought herself up into a sitting position, her eyes finally meeting Riley's. She rested her hands on her legs and dropped her head down, wondering how hard it was going to be to do exactly what Riley suggested. Maybe she _could_ pretend like she didn't even see Sonny, maybe she could be mean and ignore him, but she was going to need Riley to help her out a little bit.

"What do you think that girl has that I don't?" Morgan asked softly, her voice barely louder than a whisper. Riley gave her knees a pat and drew her attention to her once again.

"Not a damn thing, and she certainly doesn't have a friend like me who will text you every fifteen minutes to remind you to stay strong, or…well maybe you need texts more like every five minutes." Riley peered over Morgan's shoulder and looked wistfully at the window. "Maybe I should just go to work with you tomorrow."

"Riley, you can't do that."

"I can pretty much do anything I put my mind to." Riley pointed out. "You should know that better than anyone."

"Yeah but this isn't-"

"Fine, fine, I'll text you every five minutes then." Riley rolled her eyes. "You half win this but I'm still the one making you go to work so I win too. I don't _do_ losing."

Morgan found herself genuinely smiling at her friend, wondering how she had gotten so lucky as to find someone who loved her like Riley did. Riley looked out for her, made her do things she didn't exactly want to do but probably should, and she supported her, let her have her space when she needed it.

"Why are you so good at being vindictive?" Morgan asked, falling back against the back of the couch. "It's not like you have a lot of boyfriends or anything."

"No but sometimes the men I sleep with have girlfriends that they don't mention, conveniently. It's happened more than once and honestly; I don't blame the girls for being mad so I just take it out on the guy." Riley shrugged. "Most of the cheating men were part of my first wave, I learned as time went on to make sure they were single because it meant less drama for me later on."

Morgan let out a laugh and patted the couch next to her, Riley moving quickly beside her and relaxing too. She turned her head sideways and met Morgan's gaze, wondering if she would actually go to work in the morning.

It was one thing to say she would, but Morgan had a tendency to not do what she said.

Riley had to trust her though, she could always pop by the house on her lunch and check to see if Morgan was there, or she could call the precinct and see if Morgan answered her phone at work. Either way, she had measures in place to make sure Morgan didn't spend another day pity partying at the apartment.

"You eat anything today?" Riley inquired, Morgan slowly shaking her head no. "Well how about you go have a shower, throw on some clean clothes and we go grab some dinner, my treat."

Morgan considered the offer for all of five seconds before jumping to her feet, "your treat but I get to pick where."

Riley widened her eyes and nodded her head, knowing Morgan was going to pick somewhere expensive. Riley was okay with that, as long as her friend smiled at least once during dinner, that was all that mattered.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

She carried her leftovers from the night before to work with her, thanking the heavens that Riley hadn't argued when she had picked the expensive steak place near the courthouse. She hadn't eaten all of her dinner and thus had brought the rest for lunch because if Morgan had to go to work, she was at least going to have decent food to eat while she was there.

She spotted Carisi at his desk but she didn't even look his way for longer than two seconds. She wandered to their lounge and put her food in the fridge, catching Rollins coming into the room before she could get out.

"Feeling better?" Rollins asked and Morgan looked at her funny. "Liv said you were sick yesterday."

"Oh right." Morgan gave a quick nod of her head. "Yeah, I ate something bad Sunday night."

"Happens to the best of us." Rollins tossed out. "Glad you're back Lou."

Morgan didn't respond vocally, instead she gave another nod of her head and passed by Rollins on her way out of the lounge. She headed for her desk, peeling off her jacket and hanging it on the back of her chair. Before she could sit down, she heard Carisi call her name but she blatantly ignored it, channeling her inner Riley.

Speaking of Riley, her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out, looking at the text from the very girl she was channeling. After firing off a response saying she was just fine, Morgan turned her attention to her monitor and fired up her computer.

Before Carisi had another chance to call her name, Liv appeared, striding through the precinct with a purpose. Rollins stepped out from the lounge and Fin appeared not far behind Liv, everyone looking at their boss.

"Mother and daughter are missing, the only lead we've got is a phone call to the husband during the abduction." Liv announced, stopping in her tracks and turning to face her squad. "I need Rollins to head over to the house-"

"I'll go with her." Morgan threw her hand up like she was in a class of third graders and needed permission to go to the bathroom."

"Great, fine, Fin, you take Carisi and head over to the mall, the police tracked her phone there." Liv commanded and Morgan leapt to her feet, nabbing her jacket off the back of the chair before waiting for Rollins to join her.

She didn't even look at Carisi as she walked by, following Rollins and letting the older detective take the lead. It wasn't like she wanted to be alone with Rollins but she seemed like the lesser of two evils in comparison to Sonny. She didn't want to be alone with Sonny, she didn't want anything to do with him, plus maybe her and Rollins could bury the hatchet.

Maybe they could start over and she could try getting to the bottom of why Rollins was the way she was.

When they arrived at the lot, Rollins was quick to climb into a dark SUV, Morgan getting in the passenger seat and buckling up without a second thought. Rollins paused though and looked over at Morgan, shooting her a curious look.

"You and Carisi on the outs or something?" Rollins asked, clearly not one to dance around the point. "Not that I'm complaining because you're one hell of a detective, but I'm more accustomed to having Fin as my partner."

"Huh yeah, I just thought maybe you and I could get to know each other better."

"That's bullshit and you know it." Rollins tossed out with a smirk. She started the car and Morgan fought off the urge to growl, quickly reminding herself that this was a better option than Carisi, a much better option. Her phone buzzed in her pocket again and Morgan was quick to shoot off a reply text to Riley, letting her know that she was fine.

"Yeah okay, I guess you deserve to know that much." Morgan muttered, more to herself than Rollins. "I just don't want to work with Carisi today, I'm mad at him."

"That sounds about right." Rollins replied casually. "He do something to you?"

Morgan tipped her head from side to side, wondering if she wanted to answer honestly or just let her answer sound as vague as possible. She didn't respond at all and stared out the front windshield, watching as Rollins drove to the scene.

She leaned her head against the window and watched the scenery fly by. Sure the silence was sort of awkward but honestly, she was glad that Rollins wasn't in to small talk because Morgan didn't really want to chat with her, she just wanted to do her job.

"Whatever he did, I think I'm on your side." Rollins threw out, breaking the silence. Morgan cocked her head sideways and studied Rollins from her spot in the passenger seat. "He can be an idiot some- well most of the time."

"You really think that?" Morgan prompted.

"Look, I know you and I haven't exactly been the best of friends, but I can see the way you look at him." Rollins stated. "Maybe you were right about me and him, maybe I was madder that you showed up and in the snap of my fingers I lost his attention to some rookie-"

"I am a damn good detective." Morgan snipped and Rollins threw a quick glare her way. Huh, okay, so Morgan wasn't supposed to talk, she could do that, she could definitely do that and not actually make things between them any more awkward.

"I know that now. I saw what you did to Bitey McBite-face and honestly, it was impressive, so impressive that I got scared."

"Of what?"

"Of you. You show up and you make this big break in the case, then you go undercover and go total badass on the worst rapist I've seen in a long time. Tell me, if you were me, would you not feel threated by you?"

Morgan took her words to heart and blew out a breath, then she let out a laugh, Rollins tossing her a smirk. So that's what this was really about? Rollins was more than just upset that she got Carisi's attention, no, Morgan was the new kid on the squad and she was already doing a great job.

"Yeah, I would feel super threatened by me, I'm pretty awesome."

"I'm not going to agree with that statement, not out loud, and if anyone asks, I'll deny it."

"You think I'm awesome." Morgan teased, no longer fighting the smile growing on her face. "You actually like me."

"I respect you." Rollins countered.

"Well I respect you too. I'm sorry." Morgan admitted. She stared at the side of Rollins' head, wondering if this little get-along conversation would mean they could actually be coworkers without Rollins giving Morgan the stink eye every time she walked by.

"For what?"

"I don't…I don't really know, it just seemed like the right thing to say."

"You have no reason to be sorry. I knew one day someone younger would come in and threaten my position here. It's a scary thing, to see rookies doing your job just as well as you."

Morgan sucked in a breath and held it, knowing that yes, Rollins was a bit older than her, but so was Carisi. She _was_ the youngest on the squad, did that mean that one day, maybe she'd be in Liv's position with a team of her own? Would she feel like Rollins one day too?

"Beginner's luck." Morgan joked. "Maybe we can call a truce or something?"

Rollins pulled up to a red light and turned her attention to Morgan, throwing a smile onto her face at the suggestion. She offered the younger detective her hand and Morgan took it, giving it a firm shake before letting go.

Maybe things with Sonny weren't great, or even good, but at least her and Rollins were on track to being better with one another.

At least she had an ally in the blonde driving her to where they were supposed to go, and what more could she really want at that very moment.

Oh, a text from Riley. Man, her friend wasn't really letting this 'text every five minutes' thing go.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

It had been a few days of Morgan being back at work and she had been Rollins' partner for most of them, when she wasn't, she volunteered to go with Fin, claiming she wanted to learn all she could from him. It had worked, and Morgan could see the frustration growing on Carisi's face. She had even resorted to calling him simply 'detective'.

Riley was fully supportive of her too, so supportive that she had made the two of them dinner, her and Morgan sitting down to eat together and having a wonderful time. Following a lovely meal, Riley and Morgan had sat down and started watching a movie, Morgan's choice of course seeing as she was still upset at Carisi and him having another woman.

When a knock sounded out on their apartment door, Riley gave Morgan's knee a pat and jogged over to open it, peering out through the crack and spotting Carisi standing in their hallway. She leveled him with a glare and he raised his hands up in surrender.

"Please just let me talk to her?" Carisi pleaded and Riley opened the door just enough so that she could slip out into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind her. She wasn't going to just let him in, not after what he had done to her a few nights before.

"I told her the next time I saw you I'd kick your ass." Riley growled and he took a step back, fully believing every word she said.

"That night wasn't what she thought it was." Carisi confessed but Riley simply crossed her arms over her chest and let out a snarl, letting him know she wasn't about to take any shit from him. "I really like Mo, I do, I never meant to hurt her, I was just…she caught me by surprise and I didn't know how to respond."

"So you don't say anything?" Riley snipped.

"What was I supposed to say?" Carisi fired back and Riley uncrossed her arms, balling her hands into fists. He took another step back, sensing that Riley wasn't playing around and she would actually kick his ass if he didn't convince her that he honestly hadn't meant to hurt Morgan. "Okay, okay, fine, I screwed up. She shows up at my door and blurts out that she likes me, am I not allowed to be a little bit surprised?"

"You had a girl in your apartment." Riley accused.

"My sister!" Carisi retorted. He looked at Riley's fists and while her knuckles were no longer white, she hadn't unfurled them. Okay, okay so maybe that wasn't what he was expecting, but at least she was listening to him now. At least he had her attention. "My sister was over that night, that's the woman that was in my apartment."

"Well then." Riley said firmly. "You still should've said _something_ to her. Or hey, maybe gone after her?"

Carisi bowed his head and took her words to heart. Yes, yes he should've done both of those things but he hadn't, he had been so surprised by her showing up at his place and then saying what she did. He was stupid, he had screwed up, but he was trying to make it right, couldn't Riley see that, couldn't she understand and let him in so that he could make Morgan understand too?

"Yeah, I probably should have." Carisi said with a sigh. "But I didn't and don't you think for a second that I haven't thought about all the things I did wrong that night over and over again. I go to bed thinking about how I could've handled it better, I wake up hating that I hurt her. I like her too, I just need her to know that."

"Right." Riley nodded her head and finally her fists unfurled completely. She planted them on her hips and looked over her shoulder at the closed apartment door.

Maybe she could let Carisi in, maybe she could help him out. Morgan deserved an explanation right, at least he could give her that and she could give him the chance.

"So what do you say?" Carisi pleaded, even going as far as to press his palms together in a begging gesture. "Can you let me talk to her?"

"Ugh." Riley threw her hands up in the air and let out a growl. "Fine, fuck."

Before she could change her mind, she threw open the door and waved him in. Morgan's eyes locked on him and bugged out of her head, her entire body going rigid at the sight of him. She then moved her glare to Riley, wondering why the hell she had let him in.

Wasn't Riley supposed to be on her side, watching her back?

"Mo, please, can we just talk?"

Morgan leapt to her feet and took off in a run for her room, slamming the door shut behind her. Riley looked at Carisi and shrugged her shoulders at him.

"You're welcome to stay as long as you want." Riley offered. "I think I'm just going to uh, take some dinner to Peter, yeah, I'm going to do that."

Riley brushed past him and disappeared into the kitchen. Carisi didn't really care what she was doing, or where she was planning on going, all that mattered was that he was inside the apartment and all that was left between him and Morgan was her bedroom door. He could work with that.

Carisi slowly stepped across the room and leaned his shoulder against her door, his knuckle knocking gently on the wooden barrier. Morgan didn't make a sound inside and Carisi let out a soft sigh, wondering what his next move was going to be. He would wait all night if he had to, yes, he could wait her out. He'd stay at her door until she _had_ to come out.

He turned his head back and spotted Riley with a plastic bag in one hand and her purse in the other, a pair of running shoes on her feet which matched the rest of the comfortable clothes she was adorning. He lifted his hand to wave at her and Riley threw him an encouraging smile before taking off, leaving him in the apartment all on his own with Morgan.

She didn't want to be there with them, she didn't want to be pulled into their drama and she certainly didn't want to witness Carisi's attempts to get Morgan to talk to him.

Instead, she headed out the door of their building and hailed a cab, heading right for the courthouse. When she arrived, she climbed out of the cab and peered around, spotting very few people lingering outside considering it was late in the evening. She hoped that Peter was still in his office, seeing as she hadn't actually checked to see where he was.

It didn't matter, either way Riley had to get out of the apartment and if Peter wasn't here, she'd simply go back home and hope that Carisi worked quickly.

Arriving at Peter's office though, she spotted the light on and knocked on the door, which was closed but not locked because he called her in. When she stepped inside, she threw a smile onto her face and held the bag of food out in front of her.

"Sorry, I should've called first." Riley admitted, feeling anxious over the fact that maybe he didn't actually want her here. God, what was she thinking?

"Don't be sorry." Peter replied, matching her smile with one of his own. "I love seeing you."

She let out a low laugh and wandered over to his desk, setting the bag in front of him, "I brought food for you because I needed an excuse to get out of the apartment."

"And I'm the best excuse you could think of?" He countered, dropping his hands to his desk and looking at her.

"Uh yeah." She offered up with a small shrug. "But if this is a bad time, I can just go."

"No, it's fine, please stay."

She watched as he dug in to the bag of food, lowering her butt down to sit in the chair across from him, setting her hands on her thighs. He pulled out the plastic container and pulled the lid off, taking a whiff of the contents inside.

"If you have to work, I can just…I can sit over there and read." Riley suggested, taking in the sight of the files strewn across his desk. "God, this is ridiculous, if you showed up at my office, I'd be so-"

"Hey, no it's alright." He cut her off, digging into the top drawer of his desk and producing a set of plastic cutlery. "I can take a break."

"No, no I can just be quiet over there." She pointed at the couch a good ten feet away from her current seat. "Honestly, it's okay. I just don't want to go back home yet?"

"Why is that?"

"Right, you don't know." She shook her head and tipped her head sideways. "So Morgan went over to Sonny's the other night and told him she liked him but he didn't say anything to her and she got real upset so since Saturday night they haven't been talking to each other and I guess he got tired of it and showed up at our apartment to talk to her."

"And you let him in?" Peter looked at her, knowing full well she should've been on Morgan's side.

"I did." She sighed. "He told me his side and I let him in, plus I think I was getting tired of the two of them being all weird. So yeah, I came here to get away from that."

"I won't complain about seeing you." Peter murmured and she couldn't help but smile at him. "But if you want to stay on my couch and read- I probably should keep working."

Riley nodded her understanding and dug into her purse, pulling out an e-reader. She gave the top of his desk a pat and stood up, making her way over to the leather couch across the room. He watched her move the entire time and once she was sitting down, curled up against once arm, he turned his attention to his dinner.

Seeing Riley, especially when he was feeling so overwhelmed by his current case, was maybe the exact pick up he needed.

A little over an hour later, he was finished for the night but when he looked over at Riley, she was sleeping on the couch, her eyes shut tight, her body relaxed and her e-reader hugged against her chest. He couldn't contain the smile as he watched her for just a minute, mesmerized by how lucky he was to have her in his life.

This girl was the perfect one for him, and he hoped she felt the same.

Peter made his way to his feet and strode across to the couch, crouching down in front of her and gently setting his palm against her arm, her eyes jerking open and her body tightening as she woke up. He chuckled at her and she shook her head, trying to clear the fogginess from sleep out of her head before meeting his eyes.

"Was I snoring?" She asked and he shook his head no. "Oh, well, I should probably get going."

"Let me escort you home." He offered and she sat up straighter, letting him get to his feet before she did the same, leaning against his chest and letting out a yawn. His arms came around her and she let him hold her for a few seconds before she reluctantly pulled away from him.

"I would really like that."

He gathered up his jacket, wallet and the bag with the now empty containers while she took hold of her purse, tucking her e-reader inside. When he took her hand, she let him lead her out into the hallway and he pulled the door shut, locking it tight before heading for the exit.

Peter had a cab stopped before Riley could even look down the street and he tucked her into the backseat, sliding in beside her and slipping his arm around her shoulders. She curled against his side and let her eyes fall shut. She didn't fall asleep but nothing was said between them, not until they were standing in the hallway outside her door.

"You can stay if you want." Riley offered.

"I probably shouldn't, I have court early in the morning."

"That's fine, I have work. I just thought it would be rude not to offer." She joked. "So thanks for bringing me home."

"You're welcome."

She turned the doorknob and opened the door a crack, listening for arguing, or yelling, or any noise at all, but she heard nothing. She shot Peter a smile, let him kiss her goodnight and then watched him as he walked down the hall, disappearing from sight.

She closed the door and locked it, heading further into the apartment and spotting a lump outside of Morgan's door. Carisi was laying in a ball against her door and Riley shook her head in amusement. This was the guy after Morgan's heart, and he was clearly ready to spend as much time as he needed to convince her of that.

Before she headed to her own room to go to sleep, she grabbed a pillow off her bed and an extra blanket off the desk chair in her room, tossing the pillow to the floor near his head. She spread the blanket over the sleeping form of Carisi and headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed, a smile on her face at how the night had gone.

She just prayed that come morning, Morgan would finally be ready to listen to the man laying against her door.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley was the first one up the next morning and she wandered out into the living room quietly, not wanting to bother anyone else. Sonny was still curled up on the floor against Morgan's bedroom door but at some point during the night he had taken the pillow and was now using it, while the blanket was still draped over his body.

She threw a smile in Sonny's direction but carried on to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. She then took up a seat on the couch and flipped the television on, immediately turning the volume down low so as to let the other two keep sleeping if that's what they wanted to do.

It wasn't too much longer until Riley heard movement but it was muffled and rather quiet, so she figured it was Morgan from inside her room. She turned around on the couch and looked over the back of it, watching carefully as Morgan's door opened and she stepped out, only to trip over Sonny's slumbering form and fall flat on her face against the hardwood floor.

Riley leapt to her feet and rushed around the couch, making it to Morgan just in time for her to scramble to her knees, her cheek red from the impact against the floor. Sonny also leapt to his feet but he had his hands raised in surrender and an innocent look on his face, not even fully aware of what was going on.

"You stupid bastard!" Morgan cried out and made a move to lunge for Sonny, but Riley's arms wrapped around her middle and she held her back. Morgan was borderline beast mode and she knew that she had to keep herself between these two no matter what.

Morgan wasn't going to back down and Sonny was most likely only going to make things worse if he stuck around.

"Mo, no look I'm sorry!"

"All you do is hurt me! What did I do to you Carisi? What the hell did I do to deserve this?!" Morgan screamed and Riley hugged her tighter, making calming shushing sounds in her ear. Morgan still struggled to get free though, she wanted to hurt Carisi like he hurt her, but Riley was stronger than she looked.

"Sonny!" Riley called out to him and the man flashed his attention to her but only for a split second before his eyes were back on Morgan, who's eyes were wild and teeth were bared. "Sonny go."

"You're just mean Dominick!" Morgan continued to yell and Riley let out a grunt as she hauled Morgan backwards, forcing the girl into her own bedroom before pulling the door shut.

Riley held the doorknob tightly in her hand and kept Morgan from being able to get out. She locked her eyes on Sonny, who was just standing there, watching Riley struggle to keep the door shut.

"Go, go now, I'll talk to her." Riley was pleading with him. She just wanted him gone before Morgan managed to get free and hurt him. "Please, I'll talk to her, I'm on your side, do you trust me?"

Sonny stared at her for a few more seconds but when a loud pounding sound erupted from the closed door, he jerked and immediately nodded his head yes. Riley was clearly the only thing standing between him and a massive ass kicking. Sonny had seen what Morgan had done to the rapist; he didn't want to see what she would do to him.

He turned on his heels and made a break for the front door but paused just inside it and looked back at Riley.

"She's just mad Sonny." Riley tried to offer him some sort of comfort. "She doesn't mean what she said."

"Either way, I screwed up." Sonny replied softly. "I deserve it."

Riley continued to hold the door shut and offered him up what she was hoping was a sympathetic smile. He didn't hesitate one more second before opening the front door and disappearing into the hallway. Riley held on for as long as she could, giving him as much of a head start as possible before she finally let go of the doorknob.

Morgan ripped the door open and growled at Riley, leveling her with an animalistic glare. Riley merely glared back, not backing down at all. She trusted Morgan, she knew she wouldn't hurt her, even in beast mode. But Morgan was mad, so mad that she breathed out roughly and her one eye began twitching.

"Why did you do that?" Morgan demanded. "Who's fucking side are you on?"

"Yours!" Riley fired back. "I am _always_ on your side!"

"Then why didn't you let me get my hands on him?" Morgan ground out but Riley stood firm, planting her hands on her hips.

"He told me about that night, he explained to me what happened, and while I may not particularly like that he _did_ hurt you, I can clearly see that he's trying to fix it." Riley scowled. "So shut the fuck up and listen to me, right now, before I decide _you_ need _your_ ass kicked."

Morgan instantly softened, her muscles loosening. Riley rarely spoke to her like that but when she did, it was enough to stun her in to submission. Riley wasn't a fighter when it came to Morgan, but she also knew that Riley wouldn't hesitate to lay her out.

"You're scary sometimes." Morgan mumbled and Riley snorted.

"I've never gone beast mode on anyone." Riley replied.

"Well, maybe your beast mode isn't as scary as mine." Morgan shrugged. "Maybe you can be scary without going totally feral."

Riley couldn't help but smirk at Morgan's statement. Okay, maybe Riley didn't need to tap into her primal side to be intimidating, but she was sort of jealous of Morgan's ability to do just that. Riley motioned her hand towards the couch and Morgan was the first to move, stepping around it and flopping down directly in the middle of it.

Taking her time, Riley met Morgan on the couch but she leaned over her, gently reaching out and running her fingertips over her reddening cheek.

"You should probably get some ice on that so it doesn't show up at the gala." Riley remarked, jumping back off the couch.

Morgan waited while her friend headed to the kitchen, returning a couple minutes later with an icepack in her hand. She held it out for Morgan, who took it and cautiously pressed it against her face, letting out a hiss as the cold surface shocked her system.

"Why was he on the floor anyways?" Morgan asked, finally feeling herself calm down. Her heart was returning to its normal pace and her muscles were definitely not as tense.

"He slept there." Riley answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"All night?"

"Well yeah." Riley gave a nod of her head. "He told me that the reason he didn't say anything to you when you said that you liked him was because he was so surprised to even see you at his place."

"Okay." Morgan lifted her hand up and waved at Riley to keep talking.

"He apparently didn't know what to say in response to you professing your undying love to him." Riley stated.

"I didn't- whatever, that doesn't matter. He still had another girl in his apartment."

"Well that's easily explained-"

"I don't care what his explanation is. I don't want to be someone's second choice anyways. I deserve to be wanted and I deserve to be a priority."

"No Mo, you don't understand."

"You don't understand Ry. You've never had this problem, you don't want guys the way I want Sonny, you just use them for sex and move on to the next one. That's different. I want to be someone's first choice."

"You are-"

"It's whatever at this point, he can have who he wants but it's not going to be me."

Riley opened her mouth to respond but Morgan stood up and pointed her finger at Riley, rendering her speechless. She simply stared up at Morgan, who was holding an icepack against her face and watched as she disappeared into her bedroom, the door shutting behind her.

Riley shook her head in defeat and got to her feet too, only she gathered up the pillow and blanket off the floor and hoped to god Morgan came to her senses sooner rather than later.

Sonny Carisi deserved a second chance and Riley was going to make sure he got it.


	10. Chapter 10

The night of the gala arrived sooner than Morgan had been expecting but then again, she had constantly been on her toes at work, easily carrying on avoiding Sonny like the plague. She had resorted to calling him detective and nothing more and by the time the end of shift came on the day of the gala, she was pretty much best friends with Amanda Rollins- who would've believed it?

She still wasn't sure she really wanted to go to the gala but she knew Riley had a point and since the dress and shoes were already bought, she'd go for the sheer fact that she would be one of the hottest girls there. She'd show Sonny what he was missing out on, and she'd do it in the sexiest dress she owned, paired with her very own 'fuck me' heels.

"Braid crown Mo, can you do a braid crown in my hair?" Riley asked, prancing out of her room in nothing more than a t-shirt and pair of underwear. She clearly wasn't ready to go, which was fine, they still had some time, but to see her friend so calm before such a big event threw Morgan off.

"Yeah, sure, come sit down." Morgan made it to the couch first and Riley came to sit on the floor in front of her, setting a brush, some elastics and a bunch of bobby pins on the coffee table for Morgan to use on her hair. Riley fell silent and let her roommate brush out her hair, starting on the braid crown that she had requested.

If Morgan was good at anything, it was doing Riley's hair and Riley trusted her enough to let her. She had made her do a braid crown on more than one occasion and Morgan had pretty much mastered it, at least when it came to Riley's hair. Then again, she wouldn't do it for just anyone.

Riley fell into an almost trancelike state while Morgan worked on her hair. Morgan wasn't ready either but she had decided to go to the gala with her hair down, at most, she'd put a clip in it to hold it back and out of her face. Riley wasn't a simple girl and she clearly wanted to impress her ADA date.

"You and Stone said 'I love you' yet?" Morgan asked in a teasing tone and Riley scoffed from her position in front of her.

"The only person I love is you Mo, you should know that."

"Yeah but you can't marry me." Morgan joked.

"Well technically I can." Riley countered and Morgan poked her in the back of the head with her finger. "Okay, sorry. It's not like we've been together that long, Peter's great, we're still not even labeling what we are."

"So when he introduces you to people tonight, what's he going to call you?"

"Riley."

"No like 'this is Riley, she's my', and then what will he say? Lover? You don't introduce someone as your lover at an NYPD Charity Gala." Morgan tried to explain. "And like what happens if there's someone there that you know, how would you introduce him?"

"Huh." Riley hummed. "Yeah, I don't know. I'm sure it'll be fine, he can just tell them my name and not go any further than that."

Morgan continued with the braid crown, nearing the end of it but not wanting to be done talking to her best friend. She figured they weren't going to be sitting together, not seeing as Stone was a lawyer and she was a detective, which meant that she'd be at the gala without Riley right next to her.

How was she supposed to ignore Sonny without someone to help distract her?

"Do you love him though?" Morgan pressed.

"I don't know." Riley shrugged. "I definitely like him, a _lot_ , but I think it's too early to use the word 'love'."

"Can you see yourself marrying him?"

"I'd like to get through this gala first." Riley laughed in response. "Honestly Mo, I don't know. Why are you asking me all this?"

Morgan wasn't really sure what she was trying to accomplish, all she did know was that the thought of Riley loving someone scared her. If Riley loved someone other than her, things would change and Morgan wasn't sure she was ready for that.

They worked well together, they were good as roommates, and if Riley loved someone; that meant she'd most likely leave and then where would Morgan be? By herself in the apartment? Yeah, maybe, but that wouldn't be easy to deal with.

"I guess I'm not ready to let go of you." Morgan sighed. A blanket of silence fell over them and Morgan finished the braid crown pretty quickly. Once she was done, she gave Riley's shoulder a gentle pat, causing Riley to turn on the floor and face her.

"I will _always_ be your friend." Riley reassured her but Morgan shook her head.

"I know that but what if you and him move in together, and I'm left here-"

"I would never leave you in this apartment alone unless that was something you wanted." Riley cut her off, leaning against Morgan's knees and looking up into her eyes. "Even if you're forty and unmarried and I'm ready to live my life with whoever I'm with, I would never just leave you."

Morgan patted Riley on the head and forced out a nervous chuckle. Riley kissed her knee and slowly stood up, gathering up her hair stuff before turning back to face Morgan.

"Thanks Ry." Morgan murmured. Riley poked her with the end of her brush and grinned.

"Go put your dress on, we've got like twenty minutes before my ADA gets here to pick us up."

"Us?"

"Ha, yeah, you thought I'd leave you to get to the gala alone, no way. At least this way I know you're going." Riley laughed, heading back to her room to do what she told Morgan to do.

Morgan stayed on the couch for all of ten seconds more before heading to her room and putting on the dress. She grabbed her silver heels and wandered back to the couch, slipping her feet into them and working away at the straps.

When Riley wandered out of her room again, she had her dress on and her heels were clicking against the hardwood floor, a pair of simple diamond studs were in her ears.

"Wow! If Stone doesn't fuck you tonight, I might." Morgan said, eyes wide as she took in the sight of her friend.

"Well if you don't go home with a man, I'll bring you back to my place." Riley winked and spun on her heels, letting Morgan see her from the back too. Morgan stood up and walked over to Riley, impressing her by how smoothly she walked in heels.

It had taken a few nights but Morgan had finally gotten the hang of it and Riley could not have been any prouder. The two of them were knockouts and Riley figured Morgan would be catching Carisi's attention, whether she wanted to or not.

"You look sexy as fuck." Riley complimented and Morgan rolled her eyes, but did a little curtsy anyways. "Want to borrow my sapphire bracelet?"

Morgan cocked her head sideways but Riley was heading for her room before she had a chance to object. Before she could return though, the front door was knocked on and Morgan sauntered over to it, opening it to reveal Peter Stone, who gave her a nod of approval.

Riley came wandering out, her attention on the bracelet but when she didn't see Morgan where she left her, she stopped dead in her tracks and turned her attention to the door.

"You look…" Peter trailed off and Riley planted her hands on her hips, throwing him a smile.

"Beautiful." Morgan hissed at him.

"Yes, beautiful."

"Ha, also would've accepted 'totally fuckable'." Riley laughed and closed in on them, offering the bracelet in her hold to Morgan, who took it and easily fastened it around her wrist. Peter offered Riley his hand and she took it before nabbing Morgan's arm with her hand.

Morgan pulled away though and wandered over to the coffee table, grabbing their clutches they had set out earlier. She met the two of them at the doorway and Peter had his free arm up waiting for Morgan to take.

With a girl on each arm, he took them to the front of the building and ushered them into a grey town car, not a cab like Morgan had been expecting. Then again, this was the Assistant District Attorney, he probably had someone looking out for him and making sure he made a good impression.

Riley was in the middle between her and Stone but Morgan didn't care, she merely enjoyed the quiet ride to the venue, watching the streetlights as they flew by. Riley nudged her and threw a smile in her direction and Morgan looked past Riley at Peter.

"Hey Stone," Morgan called out to him and he met her gaze, "thanks for treating my friend here like she deserves to be treated."

"I don't think you know what you're talking about." Riley butted in. "Sometimes I'm a _bad_ girl."

"Okay, don't get all gross on me, I'm trying to be genuine here with your boyfriend." Morgan gave Riley's leg a rough slap but all Peter did was smile at her, and then he gave her an appreciative nod.

Morgan turned her attention back out the window and when the car came to its final stop, she was pleasantly surprised at Peter who, once again, offered her his arm.

Apparently, he was Riley's date _and_ hers.

Walking as a trio, they entered the gala with a small crowd and Morgan spotted the seating chart first, tugging slightly and leading them towards it. As much as she knew she wouldn't be sitting with Riley, she was still sad to see that it was true, on the bright side, their tables weren't _that_ far away from each other.

Morgan slipped her grip away from Peter's arm and took off in search of anyone from her squad. She didn't need to be cramping Riley's style any more than she already had and within seconds of drifting off, she had managed to find Rollins, peering behind her only to have lost sight of Riley.

Riley was perfectly content to hang on to Peter's arm and not let go until this night was over. She didn't want to lose him, the idea of wandering around the gala without him made her anxious and tonight was _not_ the night for another panic attack.

"New shoes?" Peter whispered, his lips right near her ear. She turned to face him and smiled.

"Bought them just for you." She replied and felt the muscle in his arm twitch under her grip. "Want to know a secret?"

"Sure."

"I'm not wearing any underwear." She said softly and he visibly stiffened next to her. "I'm kidding."

"You're bad."

"I easily could not be, you wouldn't know, well not until we sit down." She teased and leaned into his side.

"Oh my god, is that…that can't be Riley Prescott."

Jesus Christ. That voice, that snaky, smarmy voice. She hadn't heard that voice since Morgan had been with narcotics and she had slept with her partner, who just happened to be the very person the voice belonged to.

Riley slowly turned in the direction of where the voice had come from and she forced a fake smile onto her face at the sight of Ben Cohen, Morgan's former partner from the narcotics division.

"Hey Ben." Riley fired back. "It's been a long time."

"Yeah, but the thought of you drives me-"

"This is Peter."

"Her boyfriend." Peter threw in and Riley's attention was immediately on him. Peter merely smiled at her and offered Ben his hand, shaking it firmly when Ben gripped it. "So nice to meet you."

"This is Ben Cohen, he was Morgan's partner when she was with narcotics." Riley explained quickly.

"I wasn't just Morgan's partner; Riley and I had some good times too."

Riley ground her teeth together and wondered if this ass of a man had been put on the earth simply to bug her. She knew that he hadn't been a stand-up guy when she met him but she had slept with him anyways and hadn't exactly looked back on that particular time with fondness. He had been selfish, to Morgan and with Riley, but more importantly, he had been a cocky prick, to both of them.

"Good's not the word I would use. Anyways, Peter here is the Assistant District Attorney."

"Makes sense." Ben nodded his head casually.

"What?" Riley clearly took his bait because before she knew it, Ben was grinning, and not in a nice way.

"Rumour has it you're sort of a whore, it just makes sense that you end up with a guy who's an attorney. Bet you make more money than a narcotics detective." Ben remarked, locking his eyes with Peter's.

"Maybe you should just move along." Peter suggested, Riley visibly riled by the man in front of her. "We're just trying to have a nice night here."

"With a happy ending I bet." Ben tossed out, laughing at his own joke. "How's Morgan doing by the way?"

"She's good- really good actually. Her and her new partner just took down a serial rapist." Riley boasted, wanting nothing more than for Ben to realize that Morgan was better without him. "Her new partner's pretty much the best, and he and Morgan work so well together."

"So feisty. God, I miss you." Ben purred. "Especially in my bed."

She gripped Peter's arm tighter, fighting off the urge to rip his throat out but before either of them had the chance to say another word, Ben raised his hand and threw a wave at them before walking away. She let out a small sigh of relief and turned her head to look at Peter.

"I regret sleeping with him." Riley confessed and he shook his head in amusement.

"Is there anyone else here that you've slept with?" Peter asked in a low tone, but the small smile on his face told her that he was merely teasing. Thank god, she couldn't deal with him judging her.

Riley took a look around the room anyway and flinched when she spotted another man that she had, in fact slept with. She dropped her forehead against his shoulder but when he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, she leaned her head back and met his eyes.

"That guy, pretty sure he's a lawyer." Riley whispered.

"Another lawyer." Peter remarked and she shook her head, not totally believing her luck.

"You weren't my first lawyer." She replied, running her hand down his arm and slipping her fingers between his. "I think you might be my last though."

He continued to smirk at her, holding her hand and watching as her smile spread across her face. She didn't have much of a chance to recover though before a small swarm of people came at them. She tensed but Peter seemed to know exactly who these people were and greeted them with an enthusiastic 'hey' when they were right in front of them.

"Stone, glad you could make it." An older gentleman stated, shaking Peter's free hand.

"This is my girlfriend, Riley Prescott." He countered and looked at Riley. "This is Jack McCoy, the guy who hired me here."

"Nice to meet you." Riley said, also shaking the man's hand. She peered across the room and happened to spot Ben heading right for Morgan, but she couldn't just up and leave Peter, not when she was supposed to be his date. God, she wished Morgan had stuck with them instead of breaking off to mingle. She just had to trust that Morgan could handle herself.

Ben approached Morgan from behind, sliding his hand across her back and causing her to jump. Once she realized who it was, she forced a smile onto her face and looked at Rollins, who she had been standing with since she broke away from Riley at the seating chart.

"I thought I might see you here." Ben cooed and Morgan gave him a half hug. "Who's this?"

"Right, uh Ben, this is Amanda Rollins, she's on SVU with me. Amanda, this is my former narcotics partner Ben Cohen." Morgan waved her hand back and forth as she made the introduction and when Amanda shook his hand, she felt herself tensing up ever so slightly. It was just the effect her former partner had on her.

"I just saw Riley." Ben stated and Morgan immediately wondered what his agenda was. "She's looking good. Are her and her boyfriend serious?"

Boyfriend? Had Riley told Ben that's who Peter was or was Ben merely assuming? She didn't know, but she certainly wasn't going to ask Ben, instead, she'd file that question away for later when she could simply just ask Riley to her face.

"Yeah, I'd say so." Morgan countered, not wanting Ben to get any ideas, not from her anyway. He needed to leave Riley alone and if he walked away from Morgan right now, that'd be great too.

"Morgan here's a great detective." Rolling jumped in, sensing that maybe Morgan wasn't really excited for this guy to be talking to her.

"So I heard, Riley told me you took down a serial rapist." Ben stated.

Morgan opened her mouth to reply but Sonny appeared in her field of vision. God, not now, she didn't want to deal with him now, but maybe…maybe he could help her, at the very least, she'd feel a lot better if she had Sonny nearby when talking to Ben. Ben was a creep, worse than a creep, and she had been living her life just fine without him in it, but here he was, at the very gala she was attending and standing right in front of her.

"Yeah, team effort." Morgan sounded robotic and Rollins extended her hand out, giving Morgan a gentle pat on her shoulder. "Ben what do you want?"

"I just miss having you as my partner." Ben offered up but Morgan knew there was more to it than that. "Plus you have such fuckable friends."

Morgan took note that he shot a glance in Rollins' direction and she sucked in a breath, trying to remain calm. She was already raging mad because of Sonny, and her emotions were all over the place because she still wasn't sure she wanted to be here, and now her former partner was talking to her, looking at her current co-worker with a dangerous look in his eyes.

Nope, she was just done. Done with everything but mostly done with her asshole of a former partner.

Before she could stop herself, she lifted her hand up and slapped Ben so hard that people twenty feet away from them stopped what they were doing and looked over at the sound that she had caused. Ben was holding his face and glaring at her, clearly not expecting that from her, _at all_.

"Do not talk to me, or my squad." Morgan threatened, her voice low and scary. By this point, Riley was closing in on them too, wanting nothing more than to make sure Morgan was okay, Stone right there with Riley. "Don't you even think about Riley, or Rollins here, and do _not_ talk to me like we're friends."

Ben seemed dumbstruck by her words but Rollins straightened up beside Morgan, Riley quickly taking up a stance on her other side. Before she knew it, Stone and Carisi were behind her too, ready to step in if she needed backup. Ben shook his head, deciding it wasn't worth it, before sulking off, disappearing into the growing crowd.

"You were really partners with that guy?" Rollins quipped.

"That was your _partner_?" Sonny threw out from behind Morgan and she peered over her shoulder to look at him, simply nodding her head yes. She could feel the rage rushing through her body and she knew she needed to get away from him before she let it all out on him.

Sure, she was mad at him, but this was a different level of mad, a level reserved for Ben Cohen.

"Why don't you come with us and we'll get a drink." Peter piped up, Riley grabbing Morgan's hand and gently tugging her out of the small group gathered around her.

Morgan let Riley lead her away and the two girls fell in step with each other, Peter lagging just behind them. Morgan tossed a look over her shoulder and her eyes immediately landed on Sonny, who looked saddened by her walking away, and honestly, she was a little sad about it herself.

When it had come down to it, he had been there to back her up, at the very least, that warranted him two minutes of her time right?

With a drink in her hand and dinner fast approaching, Morgan left Riley and Stone to head to her own table, taking a seat next to Rollins, Fin on her other side. She peered across the table at Sonny and found herself thinking that maybe he deserved more than just a couple of minutes. For crying out loud he _had_ spent the night on the hardwood floor outside of her room, and he had her back when she had slapped Ben.

Honestly, she missed having him as her partner too. She liked Rollins but she wasn't the same as Sonny.

Morgan remained quiet throughout dinner and when the speeches were over with, the music started playing, a spot in the middle of the floor being cleared for people to dance if they wanted too. She smiled to herself as Riley and Peter joined the group of couples already slow dancing, but she was jerked back to her table as Sonny flopped down in Fin's vacated chair.

"You want to dance?" He asked, trying to be casual but she knew him better than that. He was desperate to get a few minutes alone with her, and by god, she was ready to give him those minutes.

"Sure." She nodded and let him take her hand, leading her out to the edge of the dancefloor. His hands resided on her hips and she rested her arms against his shoulders, the two of them swaying to the slow rhythm, Morgan wondering what he could possibly say to her to get her to forgive him.

"Look Mo, the other night, you caught me off guard." Sonny started and she just stared at him, waiting for him to carry on talking without having to prompt him with words. "You show up at my place and just tell me that you like me, what was I supposed to do?"

"Say anything in response." Morgan countered quickly. "Or chase after me."

"I was…okay, yeah, that's fair. But Morgan, I like you too, and I know I should've said that to you that night-"

"It doesn't matter anymore anyways, I don't want to be your second choice." Morgan admitted and he looked at her like she was crazy. "Come on, do you think I'm an idiot. I heard that girl in your apartment and that's great, if you want to be with her, be with her, but I'm not going to be number two."

"Mo," he paused and sucked in a nervous breath, "that was my sister."

Morgan's eyes widened in surprise and she stopped dancing. He nudged her leg with his foot, trying to get her to dance with him again but she peeled away from him and took off running.

Oh god, oh god how could she had been so stupid? Of course he didn't have some other girl, Sonny Carisi wasn't that type of guy! But she thought…and she had said…but she had been wrong, so very wrong and now she just had to get out of there before she made an even bigger fool of herself.

She made it out into the entrance hall before his hand caught her wrist and he tugged her backwards, her body colliding with his. He hugged her tight against him, not wanting to let her go but all she wanted to do was hide from him for the rest of her life. How could she have honestly thought he had some other girl in his apartment after he had spent the night cuddled with her in her bed?

"Please just let me go, I'm so stupid and I don't deserve you but I just thought that you had another woman in your apartment who wasn't me and I-"

Breathless, suddenly she was breathless but the feeling of his lips against hers was calming her down almost instantly. She felt her body melt into his hold and thanked god that he was holding her because she swore her legs had turned to limp noodles simply because he had kissed her.

When he reluctantly pulled away, he looked sideways, refusing to meet her eyes, "man I'm sorry, I should've asked you if-"

"You're looking for consent?" She stared at him, eyes still wide. "Jesus Christ, if you don't kiss me again, I'm going to slap you like I slapped my former partner."

"Yeah, I'm actually confused, was he really your old partner?"

"Sonny," she paused and he finally met her eyes, a smile toying on her lips, "you're a way better partner."

And with that, she was kissing him again, the two of them standing in the hall at the front of the building, locked at the lips, without a care in the world.

Morgan pulled away first and sucked in a huge breath of air, a grin on her face that she had trouble containing.

"It's always been you Morgan, I have liked you from the day you stepped into the precinct."

"I like you too Sonny Bunny."

The two of them wandered back into the main room, Morgan searching out Riley and giving her the thumbs up as they rejoined them on the dancefloor.

For the next hour, Morgan didn't leave his side and Sonny barely let go of her. People filtered out around them and when there weren't too many people left, Morgan tugged on his arm and ushered him back out to the main hallways where she had kissed Sonny Carisi for the first time, but certainly not the last.

Riley burst into the hallway behind her with Stone right next to her, his arm around her waist.

"You two all good?" Riley asked, looking between them and letting her eyes fall on their intertwined hands. "Right then."

Morgan lifted her one foot up and unbuckled the ankle strap before handing the shoe to Sonny. She then repeated the process on her other shoe and when they were both firmly in Sonny's grasp, she looked at Riley, who was rolling her eyes.

"Still don't know how you wear these things." Morgan remarked and without a word between them, Sonny came to stand in front of her and squatted down ever so slightly, letting Morgan hop onto his back so that he could piggy back her home.

"God damn Mo, you shouldn't wear the shoes if you can't last a few hours in them." Riley scowled but when Peter gave her side a gentle squeeze, she turned her attention to him.

"I think the shoes were hot." Sonny remarked and Riley shot him a glare before looking back at Peter.

"Why don't you come home with me tonight?" Peter propositioned and Riley's face lit up at his suggestion. If she went home with Peter, that meant the apartment was empty for Morgan and Sonny, yes, she could totally support her best friend getting some after pining after Sonny for a couple of months now.

"Oh no Sonny Bunny, seems I'll be all alone tonight." Morgan faked a whiny tone but it was clear that Sonny wasn't going to be leaving her any time soon. "Please come stay with me, we can cuddle, maybe this time I'll take my clothes off."

"Jesus Christ, is that what I sound like when I try to pick up guys?" Riley asked, to no one in particular.

"From what I've experienced, you're a little smoother." Peter answered and she shook her head with a smile. "Come on, let's go."

Morgan laughed from her position on Sonny's back and let her friend wander towards the door with her apparent boyfriend but before Riley ventured outside, Morgan let out a low whistle, catching her best friend's attention.

"Look how tall I am Ry!" Morgan cackled, Riley merely staring at her in disbelief. "Have fun at your boyfriend's place!"

Riley didn't deny it this time, which was all Morgan needed in order to conclude that it must be true. Disappearing through the front door, Morgan was left all alone with Carisi in the hallway.

"You ready to go?" Carisi posed from his position under her.

"Yes sir. Giddy up Sonny horsy."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Kissing Sonny Carisi was better than Morgan could have ever imagined it, and she definitely wasn't going to be stopping anytime soon, not when they were already in her bedroom, his top half naked and her shoes tossed into the corner of her room.

"I'm so sorry Mo." Sonny murmured, pausing in the kissing for just a second. Morgan didn't want to hear him talk, she just wanted to keep kissing him and eventually move on to adult activities in her bed. This time she was going to cuddle with him but he was going to be under her covers and neither of them would be wearing clothes.

"Shhh." Morgan shushed and rested her palms against the side of his neck, leaning in to plant her lips against his but he dodged it and felt her press a kiss to his cheek instead. "Dude, seriously?"

"I just want you to know that I really am sorry. I had no idea you thought I was with some other woman."

"Yeah, yeah, I was wrong, just your sister, seriously, take your pants off." She stammered, releasing her hold on him and reaching around to her back, trying to get her dress unzipped but failing miserably.

She had never actually tried to get out of a dress this quickly and the sheer excitement was causing her fingers to falter with the zipper. Morgan growled and turned her back to him, wondering if maybe this was a sign, maybe she _should_ slow down seeing as they literally just started talking again like an hour ago.

Sonny reached out and gripped the zipper, forcing her hand away and undoing it for her. She held the dress against her chest though and turned back around to face him, an unsure gaze in her eyes.

"Maybe you're right." Morgan said softly and lowered herself down to sit on the edge of her bed, keeping her dressed hugged against her chest. He followed her lead and sat next to her, offering her his hand, which she took with ease and looked sideways at him. "Are you ready for this?"

"For what exactly?" Sonny quipped, feeling her grip his hand just the tiniest bit tighter.

"I don't even know. Like what are we now, what are we doing here, what does this all mean for _us_?" Morgan let out a growl of frustration and wondered what he was going to say to all of her questions. They were partners for god sake, if they crossed the friend line, what would happen at work?

Were there rules about dating your partner, would it mean that one of them would have to leave SVU? If that was the case, Morgan would easily bow out and let Sonny remain where he was, but she didn't really want that. She liked SVU, she liked working with the squad, she wanted to stay where she was.

"I have wanted you from the minute you walked into the precinct." Sonny confessed and she leaned sideways, resting her head against his shoulder. "We could just see where this thing between us goes?"

Was that something that made sense to her? Sure it was, but then her concerns about her job came flooding back. She didn't _want_ to have to transfer again but she would.

"But like not see other people until we know for sure, right?" Morgan pressed and he immediately jolted at her words, drawing her attention up towards him. She stared at him, simply waiting for him to explain what had spooked him so much.

"I haven't hardly even looked at another girl in the last two months." Sonny admitted. "Okay, except maybe Rollins, but you know better than anyone that whatever complicated mess her and I had, it's done. It's you Morgan, _only_ you."

"Yeah?" She drummed her fingers against the fabric of her dress and took her bottom lip in between her teeth in consideration. He had spent the night on the hard floor outside of her room a few days ago, he had tried desperately to get her to talk to him and now here they were; the two of them sitting on her bed, Sonny half naked and her with her dress two seconds away from being on the floor.

This was exactly what she had wanted from the beginning, she wanted Sonny, she wanted to be with him. Screw the consequences at work; whatever was going to happen would happen. She was going to take what she wanted, just as soon as she managed to get his pants off.

"Do you want me to leave?" He questioned and she immediately shook her head no. That was the opposite of what she wanted. She wanted him to stay, she wanted to sleep with him, she wanted to have sex with him and wake up in her bed wrapped in his arms.

"What I really want," she paused and took in a deep breath, "is for you to take your pants off."

"I don't…I wasn't planning on…I don't have anything." Sonny seemed almost embarrassed at his admission but Morgan didn't understand. She looked at him for a second and it dawned on her. Okay, he clearly wasn't prepared for a night of sex, but that was fine right, surely Morgan could scrounge up a condom or two.

Her roommate was the sluttiest person she knew, at the very least Riley would have to have something they could use, right?

"Hang on." Morgan let go of his hand and stood up, heading for the door while still hanging on to her dress. She wandered into Riley's room and paused inside the doorway, wondering where the best place to look for a condom would be.

Deciding the nightstand was the best place; Morgan crouched down and pulled the top drawer open, her nose scrunching up at the sight of not only the very thing she was looking for, but also other things that her friend clearly used in bed. Trying not to judge too much, Morgan grabbed a couple of the packaged condoms and headed right back to her room, leaving the drawer open so that when Riley came home, she'd know Morgan had been in it and not just assume that she was covered for protection in the future.

Morgan popped her head in the doorway and threw the condoms, hitting Sonny in the chest with them before letting out a laugh as he gathered them up, an amused smirk plastered on his face.

"You sure you want to do this?" Sonny asked, genuinely concerned about Morgan. He didn't want her to feel pressured or anything but he also didn't really want her to back out now. This girl was beautiful, she was smart, funny, gorgeous and she was willing to be his for the night, and hopefully many nights to come.

"I have never been more sure about anything Sonny Bunny."

"You keep calling me that and it ain't going to want to work." He shot back, a smirk toying on his lips.

"Well I'm sure I could remedy that."

And with those final words, she moved her hand away from her chest and let the dress fall to the floor. His eyes widened at the sight of her in nothing more than a pair of underwear and a smirk on her face that promised one of the best nights of his life.


	11. Chapter 11

By the time her next stint at work rolled around, she had already spent the night of the gala and then the next night with her newfound beau. Sonny had barely even made it home the day after the ball but he had managed to get there and when he had come back to the apartment, Riley had been quick to get the hell out of there before she heard things she didn't want to hear.

Morgan was just glad that she had someone she could run off to, it made Morgan feel way less guilty about displacing her from her own home. Riley didn't seem to mind though, even when Morgan had explained to her why her nightstand drawer was open, all Riley did was flash her a knowing smirk and then went and added condoms to the list of things they needed, along with their regular weekly groceries.

Morgan would never fault Riley for being prepared in that sense.

Walking into the precinct though, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to act around Sonny. They were technically a thing yeah, but she didn't know where he stood on public displays of affection in general. Being at work, she knew enough that he wouldn't want her to be making out with him, but could she steal kisses when they were alone, could she text him dirty things when she wasn't busy?

What the hell was he expecting?

Lucky for Morgan, she was the second one in the precinct after Rollins, who was smiling as Morgan wandered in and sat down at her desk. She didn't _say_ anything to Morgan but it was evident by the look of joy on her face, that she knew at least some of what had happened at the gala had carried over to work.

"You go home with anyone?" Morgan posed, knowing the type of woman Rollins was. She had two kids by two different men, it wasn't hard to see she was sort of like Riley when it came to men and sex. "There were definitely lots of prospects, some pretty high up lawyers, _and_ cops."

"I noticed that too, but unfortunately I did not go home with anyone." She answered.

"Well did you _take_ anyone home with you?" Morgan pressed but her mind flitted to the fact that Rollins had two kids at home. Maybe her days of partying and no strings attached sex were over.

If Morgan was her, it would only take one unplanned pregnancy to set her straight, then again, she didn't know _all_ of the details of Rollins' life outside of work.

"I thought about maybe asking your former partner if he wanted to be my night time secret, but now that you and I are friends, I thought better of it."

Morgan knew she was half joking by the smirk on her face, but even Ben Cohen wasn't good enough for Amanda Rollins, he hadn't been good enough for Riley either, but that didn't seem to matter to her friend at the time, not when Riley was just looking for an attractive guy to have sex with.

And Morgan could give her that, at least Ben Cohen was attractive, in a too-charming, smarmy kind of way.

"I don't think you really missed out on much, Riley once informed me that he's not even that good in bed. He apparently talks a big game but has what she so nicely called a 'teeny weenie'."

Rollins practically choked at Morgan's recollection of what Riley had said about her former partner but managed to turn it into a laugh before any serious damage was done. Morgan couldn't help but grin at making the other woman laugh and part of her wondered how Rollins would treat her when she found out her and Sonny were sort of a thing.

Yeah Amanda had been okay with Morgan lately but Rollins and Sonny had a deep history, had known each other for a long time before Morgan showed up. She had no idea if there was some sort of girl code that she had broken or if maybe she was supposed to stay away from Sonny just so Rollins wouldn't have to witness them being together.

"That why you transferred here?" Rollins chuckled.

"No, there were other reasons, but that certainly didn't help." Morgan teased right back.

"Your friend, she's with ADA Stone now though, right?" Amanda questioned and Morgan sat down at her own desk, nodding her head yes. "I was talking to them the other night, they seemed really good together, and honestly, they _looked_ really good together."

"She definitely picks the attractive guys out. I can't tell you anything about his 'weenie' size though." Morgan tried to joke and when Rollins let out a laugh, she knew that this woman wasn't as bad as she originally thought. "Yeah, they do seem good together, I hope he sticks."

"Sticks?" Rollins echoed her words, looking at Morgan for more of an explanation.

"Yeah, Riley's normally more of a fuck and chuck sort of girl, she's had a lot of one-night stands in the past. For some reason though, she seems to genuinely like Stone."

"For some reason?" Rollins raised an eyebrow. "He's a damn fine ADA, and I don't mean in the lawyer sense."

Morgan shook her head with a smile; yeah, Rollins was right, Peter Stone was an attractive man, which matched with Riley and her attractive woman status. They were honestly the most well-matched pair that she could think of and the more she thought about it, the more Morgan knew that Stone wasn't a bad guy. He was genuinely good at his job and he was smart, understanding, clearly he liked Riley back. Morgan definitely approved of him dating her best friend, not that she would say that out loud or anything.

"How come your roommate didn't latch her claws into Carisi?" Rollins asked, breaking Morgan's train of thought.

"I told her he was off limits." Morgan replied nonchalantly.

"She slept with your last partner though."

"She did, but I didn't like Ben like that."

"But you like Carisi like that." Rollins stated, and even though it wasn't a question, Morgan found herself nodding in agreement. "I get it. For what it's worth, I think you and Carisi work well together, and not just on the job."

Morgan couldn't contain the smile at Rollins' words. So far she was feeling pretty darn good about things, she just hoped that there weren't any rules about dating coworkers, but she knew it wouldn't be that easy. Maybe that was the real reason behind Rollins not letting Carisi be anything more than her friend, maybe she knew something Morgan didn't.

She wasn't blatantly aware of any rule against dating one's partner, but it seemed like something they would have protocols in place for. Maybe she could simply become Rollins' partner, or Fin's.

Things were good now and she knew good rarely stuck around.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Shit hadn't hit the fan yet, not for Morgan anyways, in fact, the first Friday night after being back to work as Sonny's girl warranted a night out for the new couple. She was excited to go on a real date with the man she had been crushing on for pretty much as long as she had known him, and when they talked about Friday night, he had claimed he had a nice evening planned, and even Riley was anticipating a night to herself in the apartment because it was going to go _that_ well for Morgan.

Thank god the two girls had the same size feet or else Morgan would've been out of luck for shoes that matched her fancy outfit, which was really just a modest cocktail dress in a dark blue, not Sonny Carisi blue as Riley had pointed out. Shoes were important though and Morgan wasn't the type of girl to get stuck on them. She owned way fewer than Riley, but then again, Riley loved shoes like it was nobody's business.

Thank god for that; Riley's black wedges completed the look Morgan was going for and she was grateful that she hadn't tried putting her in a pair of stilettos, not that she wouldn't have been able to stand them, she just preferred the comfort. In fact, when Morgan had reluctantly suggested her own new 'fuck me' heels, Riley had immediately informed her that they wouldn't go with her dress.

"Plus 'fuck me' heels on the first date is just a cry for sex, don't be desperate Mo." Riley had offered up and Morgan was grateful for that. She hadn't been prepared for a night out in her silver sexy shoes.

Morgan was sitting on the arm of the couch, ready and waiting anxiously for her date to arrive. She was ready early but that was fine by her, she would've hated to keep Sonny waiting while she finished up. Riley was flopped out on the couch, using the ball of her foot to bounce off Morgan's thigh while she also waited for Sonny to show up at their place to sweep Morgan off her feet and out the door.

"You should call Peter, tell him to come over and keep you company." Morgan suggested, pressing her hands into her sides in an attempt to calm herself down.

"Why?" Riley countered, lifting her arm up and draping it over her forehead. "I'm good."

"Really Ry? I just though it might be nice for the two of you to hang out." Morgan stated. "Also why wouldn't you want to hang out with your _boyfriend_?"

Riley offered up a shrug but didn't say anything in response. She turned her head sideways and looked at the television, which was turned on but the sound was on low so that neither girl would miss it when Carisi knocked on their door.

Morgan dropped down and sat on Riley's feet, giving her pal a swat on the shin. Riley turned her attention back to Morgan and let out a soft sigh, clearly letting something eat at her. Morgan knew her too well and Riley was being sort of weird. In fact, she had rarely seen Riley turn down the opportunity for sex, and with Peter Stone nonetheless.

"Something up with you?" Morgan pressed and Riley offered up another shrug, wondering what the big deal was. Couldn't she just have a night to herself, couldn't she just be alone in their apartment.

"He's a busy guy, I'm sure he could do with a night without me." Riley remarked, trying to sound casual, but her voice betrayed her and she found herself sounding more saddened than anything.

"Or maybe he'd love to see you?" Morgan retorted. "Riley what's this really about?"

"Nothing." Riley sighed. "I just don't feel like being pretty tonight, and I definitely don't feel like entertaining."

"Well first of all, you're pretty no matter what and I'm sure that Peter would love you if you were swollen in the face and had-"

"We don't love each other." Riley cut her off. "Yet. Okay, so maybe you should just focus on-"

" _Yet_? You can't just hesitate on that word and not expect me to catch it." Morgan broke in, leveling Riley with a smirk. "Riley, do you love him?"

She pulled herself up into a sitting position and crossed her arms over her chest. She was currently dressed in what would easily constitute as her pajamas: a pair of short shorts and a loose-fitting t-shirt, the sleeves rolled up. Morgan reached out and nudged Riley with her hand, forcing her friend to look at her, when she did, she found herself a little surprised by the tears welling up in her friend's eyes.

"I don't know Mo." Riley blew out a breath. "I wouldn't even know how to decide that. How would I even know what love is?"

"Well maybe I can help." Morgan suggested and Riley pointed at her with her finger, egging her on. "Do you get all happy when you think about seeing him?"

Riley slowly nodded her head, "he's pretty amazing."

"I'll agree, but not in the same way you think he's amazing. Do you miss him when he's not around?"

"I don't know." Riley answered honestly. "I like spending time with him, but I can be fine by myself."

"Okay but like why would you be sad about the potential of loving someone?" Morgan quipped, watching as Riley brushed her tears away. She then ran her hands through her hair in an anxious gesture, letting out a soft sigh as she did so. "What would be so bad about that?"

"What if he doesn't love me back?" Riley fired out. "What if all of a sudden he doesn't want to be with me anymore or he finds out that I've actually been with a _lot_ more guys than he thought and he decides I'm not good enough to be with him?"

"Why wouldn't you be good enough?" Morgan chuckled. "Anyone would be lucky to have you; Peter Stone _is_ lucky to have you. Okay so maybe you don't love him yet, but you could and that sounds like a great thing to me Ry. Spending the rest of your life with him, getting married, having kids, you two are so perfect together it's scary."

"God." Riley growled and tried to come up with something that would steer Morgan away from the particular topic of love. "I think seeing Ben rattled me."

"Yeah, well he's an asshole. Don't let him get to you." Morgan reassured her. "Peter's nothing like Ben Cohen, for one thing, he can pull off a suit way better than my dick of an ex-partner ever could. Don't get me wrong, the leather jacket look isn't so bad but there comes a time in a man's life where he needs to grow up and get a suit."

"Suits are so much better than leather jackets." Riley agreed.

"Maybe you should call Peter, talk to him about this?"

Riley blew out a breath and leaned back on the couch, grabbing her phone off the coffee table as she moved. Morgan watched as she pulled up Peter's number and sent him a text, but she couldn't see what it said, nor did she really want to know. Her and Peter were none of Morgan's business, not unless he hurt Riley, which she hoped he never would.

"Are you sure you're going to be gone _all_ night?" Riley posed and looked at her phone, reading Peter's response.

"If all goes well, hopefully." Morgan grinned.

"Well good then. I'm going to be working on number six: have a guy stay the night at the apartment." Riley joked. "He's on his way."

Morgan opened her mouth to say something but the door being knocked on cut her off. She rose up to her feet but Riley leapt off the couch and ripped the door open, leveling a glare at Carisi, who immediately took a step backwards.

"Uh hey, is…is Morgan here?" He asked, sounding nervous. She gave him the once over and leaned against the open door. "Is she ready?"

"I am!" Morgan called out and came up behind Riley, who continued to glare at Sonny. "I'm good to go."

"Sonny Bunny." Riley said firmly. "You better have the purest of intentions."

"Uh-"

"Jesus Christ Ry, you're the one who sleeps with guys and never sees them again." Morgan piped up from behind Riley, but she didn't move, she didn't let Morgan get any closer to the door as she continued to look at the man standing just out in the hallway.

"My girl here deserves the best." Riley stated.

"One hundred percent agree there Riley." Sonny countered.

"Right, good. Glad we're on the same page then. Have her home by eleven Carisi." Riley deadpanned and he met her glare, but she held it for a few seconds and then broke out into a fit of laughter. "Oh my god, I'm kidding, you can keep her as long as you want Sonny Bunny, I trust you with her."

"Right. Uh, thanks." Sonny stammered and offered Morgan his arm, leaving a giggling Riley in the apartment.

He led her to the exit of the building and once they were out on the sidewalk, he strode over to a grey sedan and opened the back door for her. Morgan cocked her head in confusion but climbed in ahead of him, turning to face him as he joined her in the back of the car.

"Figured this was nicer than a cab." Sonny remarked casually and Morgan smiled in appreciation. "And I wasn't sure what sort of shoes you'd be wearing so I didn't want to bank on walking."

"Were you hoping I'd wear my 'fuck me' heels?" Morgan purred and leaned against his side, her body jerking slightly as the driver pulled away from the curb. "Because all you would've had to do was ask."

"I didn't want to be too bold on our first official date." Sonny teased and slipped his hand between her and the back of the seat, hauling her tighter against him, if it was at all possible. The two of them simply looked at one another for a good thirty seconds before Morgan moved closer, eliminating the distance between them and kissing him softly.

He gripped her tighter and returned the favour, kissing her back harder, and the whole ride to the restaurant, they didn't see a thing outside of the cab because they were too busy canoodling inside of it.

When the car came to a stop, Sonny reluctantly pulled away from her and made quick work of hopping out of the car, offering her his hand so that she could use it as leverage to get out herself. She peered up at the sign of the restaurant and her eyes bugged out.

_Masa_ was a small, expensive joint that was rumoured to be booked months in advance, yet here they were, standing outside of the place. Sonny slipped his arm around her middle and guided her towards the place, a fancy red carpet lined the entranceway but not the bright red tacky red, this was a deep burgundy red that made the place seem all that much classier.

They arrived at the Maitre D station and the man standing there greeted Sonny as if he knew him and Morgan couldn't help but swoon a little. She had been expecting a nice date but this was above and beyond, but it didn't end there. The Maitre D ushered them over to the table in front of the window, apparently one of the most sought-after tables in the joint.

The place was beautiful inside just like it had been outside. The walls were a deep mahogany and the lights were basically mini chandeliers hovering over each and every table. This place was just gorgeous, and Morgan couldn't help but wonder how a man like Sonny Carisi had managed to get a table here, especially on such short notice.

Sonny beat the man to pulling out Morgan's chair and she sat down with an astonished look on her face, yes, this was a very, _very_ good first date, one that Morgan would not soon forget. Sonny Carisi had surprised her, this was totally unexpected, but definitely not unappreciated.

"How?" Was all she managed to get out and a menu was laid out on the table for her. The man who had seated them wandered away and Sonny plastered a smug smirk on his face.

"A guy owed me a favour." He answered vaguely but Morgan wasn't going to press. She didn't really want to know, that would just ruin the mystique surrounding her date.

"Jesus though, this is amazing." Morgan hissed, leaning in towards the table so that only he heard her. She didn't want to say anything too loud for fear that it might ruin the moment and the place would disappear from around her.

"I wanted to impress you." Sonny confessed. "You deserve to be impressed."

"I totally am, but you know I would've been content with that ravioli place, right?"

"First date's call for fancy places." Sonny offered her a genuine smile and she countered with one of her own.

"Well this is already one of the best first dates I've ever been on." She nodded.

"Hopefully it'll be your last first date too." He teased cheekily and she found herself blushing at his comment. "Look Mo, I know we had a rough path getting here but I do really, _really_ like you. I hope that we can keep seeing each other for a long time to come."

"I'd really like that."

"Good."

She finally stole a look at the menu and found herself confused on what to order, everything looked so damn good. When their waiter showed up, she ordered a glass of wine and he followed suit, then the waiter left and she carried on perusing the menu. God there were too many great choices, so many things she really wanted to try, but she knew she had to pick wisely because Sonny's guy wouldn't owe him too many more favours, if any more at all.

When the waiter came back, Morgan was quick to ask him what he recommended and, upon realizing it was one of the things she was thinking about, ordered it right away. Sonny managed to find something different to try and the waiter walked away with their order and leaving behind their drinks. She took a sip of the wine and let out a small moan at how good it was.

"You keep making noises like that and we won't make it through dinner." He whispered but Morgan could only grin at him. Maybe that was part of her game plan, maybe she was planning on going home with him, she just hoped that the two of them would be able to enjoy dinner before that happened.

In a place like this, she wasn't going to forfeit a great meal for good sex, not when she had Sonny for a long time to come. _Masa_ only happened once for people like her.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley was feeling even more on edge since Morgan had left, but she wasn't sure how to cure that. Peter was on his way over, in fact, he should be there any minute, but still, Riley found herself super anxious. Something was bothering her, something big, but it's not like she could talk to Morgan about it because Morgan didn't _know_.

Yeah okay, Morgan had pointed out that maybe she could love the man, but there were other things on her mind, things that trumped her feelings for Peter Stone. What she wanted to talk to him about had nothing really to do with him at this point in time, but she had to talk to someone about it and since Morgan had no idea that she couldn't have kids, she wasn't going to be turning to her best friend, because that was something that required finesse to bring up.

Plus Morgan was on a date, she needed this night to herself, Riley could figure her own shit out, especially if she could talk it out with Peter.

As soon as he knocked on the door, she was up off the couch and ripping it open, a wild look in her eyes that seemed to make him do a double take. In the time since Morgan had left, she had thrown on some clothes that were just the tiniest bit nicer, hell, she wanted to feel pretty at the very least. At the sight of him, she shook her head and tried to pull it together, not wanting to scare him off before shit even got real.

"You okay?" He asked, stepping into the apartment and shedding his coat. She took it and hung it on the hook on the wall before grabbing his hand and leading him to the couch. The two of them sat down and he continued to look at her, wondering why she was being sort of twitchy and a lot awkward.

He didn't know if she was going to have a panic attack or not but if she suddenly exclaimed that she couldn't breathe, it wouldn't have surprised him. In fact, it maybe would've been something he'd be okay with. She had already freaked out at his place, he knew what to expect from her if that happened, but this seemed like a totally different kind of jittery.

"I want to see if I can…" she trailed off and sucked in a deep breath, Peter giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I told you I can't have kids but that was told to me a long time ago."

"Right, college."

"Yeah and the doctor I talked to back then was just like not real sure why or anything."

"Okay, so where is this leading to Riley?"

"I guess I just…I've just been thinking a lot about it lately and I want to look into it further." She explained as best as she could. He leaned in and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her towards him. "I just think that maybe I could get a second opinion and I don't want you to freak out or anything because I don't want you to do anything with me, or for me, I just figured you should know what I'm planning."

"Well I appreciate your consideration."

"But?"

"No buts. Your body, your choices."

"Seriously?" She looked at him, unsure of how she had been expecting him to react, but this certainly wasn't it. The last guy who had found out she couldn't have kids had totally blown up at her, told her she wasn't a real woman, but this…Peter Stone was calm, cool and collected, as if she hadn't just informed him that she wanted to see about having kids of her own. "You're not mad?"

"What right do I have to be mad? You could've not told me and I wouldn't have been any the wiser." He pointed out and she straightened up.

"Huh." She cocked her head sideways. That thought had crossed her mind but she didn't _want_ to do that, she wanted him to be a part of her life, and that included major decisions that she chose to make.

"You're not very familiar with relationships, are you?" Peter teased but Riley found herself shaking her head no before even realizing he was partially joking.

"My longest relationship was like six months and that was the guy in college who freaked out when I told him I couldn't have kids." She explained. "I'm just not very good at this. Fucking and chucking I can do, but dating…"

"Should I not have called myself your boyfriend at the gala? Is this my fault?"

She shook her head no and let out a soft sigh. If she used the flimsy excuse of Ben Cohen getting to her, she figured he wouldn't believe her. Sure, he'd maybe let her have it her way but he wouldn't _believe_ her.

"I think that was kind of nice." She said softly. "I like the idea of you being my boyfriend."

"I apologize for catching you off guard." Peter offered.

"No, that's okay." She shook her head and forced a smile onto her face. "I think catching me off guard is the best way to handle me sometimes."

He let out a low chuckle and she seemed to relax beside him, her body melting into the couch.

"So?"

"You're seriously not mad about me trying to figure out if I really can't have kids?" She circled back to her earlier concerns but when she looked at him, he seemed to be studying her carefully.

"I think that if it makes you happy, then I support you."

"Well okay then." She bowed her head. "So I was freaking out over nothing?"

"It's not nothing to you." He pointed out. "And it's not exactly nothing to me either, I just don't see why I would be mad at that."

"Hmm." She leaned against him and felt herself relaxing in his hold. She felt comfortable with him, comfortable next to him. Peter made her feel like maybe things would be alright. "Okay well…good."

She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head, his entire body relaxed next to hers. God this man was too good to her, perfect even, and Riley didn't know what she did to deserve someone like Peter Stone. He treated her amazingly and he didn't get mad, in fact, she wasn't even sure he was capable of it.

He was respectful, he didn't judge her, and boy were there things he could judge her for, but he didn't. He took her as she was and didn't try to change her, or force her to do anything she didn't want to do. She liked spending time with him, wanted to keep spending time with him and spend a lot more time hanging out.

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

She was surprised at the words, but more surprised that they hadn't come from her. Jesus Christ! What was happening?

Right, no, this was good, this was great even, because she didn't even have to think about how to respond, it felt too right.

"I think I'm falling in love with you too ADA Stone, and even though it terrifies me, it excites me a little bit more."


	12. 10 Months Later

_**10 Months Later…** _

Morgan was at Sonny's apartment for their weekly romantic dinner. He was cooking, as usual, and Morgan loved the smells that were coming from his little kitchen. She adored spending time with him and she adored it even more when he took the time to cook them a meal, which was always delicious, even more so because it had come from him.

She was leaning against the counter, waiting for him to pull the homemade lasagna out of the oven. The garlic bread was already cut up and placed in a bowl on the table not too far away, but Morgan was more interested in seeing his 'famous' lasagna. She knew the dish took a lot of time to prepare and it wasn't lost on her that he had gone through all that effort for her. She loved Sonny more than anything but found it getting harder and harder to remain professional at work.

All she wanted to do all the time was kiss him, but that wasn't something that she did at work. She knew it made other people uncomfortable, and it was definitely a distraction, but so far, no one had said anything to her or Sonny about it. They weren't partners anymore, she had been moved to Rollins, and that was fine by her, but it was still hard not to grab his hand at every opportunity, or plaster a knowing smirk on her face when they had promised to spend the night together.

Things were good though and Morgan was happy. She didn't want anyone else and the nights she spent curled up against Sonny were some of the best. Tonight, it would be no different.

"Look out doll, it's coming out and I don't want to burn you on the way to the table." Sonny announced and Morgan hauled herself up so that she was sitting on the edge of the counter, out of the way for when he freed the dinner from the oven. When he did just that, her eyes widened in admiration and her stomach growled in anticipation.

It smelled so damn good. She couldn't wait to dig in, she wanted nothing more than to stuff her face with the delicious food that he had made especially for her. This was the perfect guy; he was smart, he treated her right and man did he know his way around the kitchen.

"Sonny Bunny, you're a great cook." She commented, watching as he carried the tray of lasagna to the table and set it on the hot pad that he had put out earlier. He was dressed in a pair of dress pants and a dress shirt; the matching jacket had been abandoned as soon as he had gotten home from work. Morgan was wearing a cute little dress with bare feet; her shoes being abandoned just like his jacket.

She always dressed up for their weekly dinners, it made her feel just that little bit more special.

"My family would've killed me if I didn't know how to cook proper Italian food Mo."

"Well next time you're talking to them, tell them I appreciate that you are such a great cook. God, if it tastes as good as sex feels-"

"You say things like that and I won't be able to wait until after dinner." He cut her off and she smirked.

"I'm just making you practice your self control." She teased and hopped off the counter, wandering across the room to take a seat at the table. He hesitated and turned back to the cupboards, peeling the oven mitts off and grabbing two wine glasses from inside.

She simply stayed at the table and watched him as he poured two glasses of wine, setting one in front of her and sitting down with the other one in his hand. He raised it up and waited for her to do the same, when she did, he smiled wide at her.

"To you Mo, you look so beautiful tonight." He said, his voice soft and soothing. She grinned at his toast and gingerly clinked her glass against his, taking a sip and setting it on the table.

Sonny grabbed the serving spoon and dug right into the lasagna, serving up a hefty portion for her before himself. God she didn't even care if she gained ten pounds from the sheer amount of lasagna she ate, it smelled too good.

"Thanks for dinner." Morgan cooed and grabbed her fork, taking a quick glance around the room. He had dimmed the lights as best as he could and there were a few candles lit on the table, a single rose in a skinny vase between them but off to the side. She loved nights like tonight, simply enjoying a nice dinner with the man she wanted to spend the rest of her days with.

It was too perfect and part of her was upset that they hadn't gotten together sooner. Their path to each other was rough and rocky but it had all worked out for the best. There wasn't anything Morgan would change about their relationship.

Sonny's arm flew out sideways and his fork tumbled to the floor. She made a move to bend over and grab it but he was out of his chair faster, dropping down into a crouch before placing his knee on the ground. She cocked her head at him and watched as he pulled something out of the pocket on his pants and her eyes widened at the sight of a little black velvet box.

Oh my god! Was this really happening, was he really going to propose to her, was he actually going to ask her to marry him?

"Morgan, you know I love you and I really, really do, so much. I can't imagine spending the rest of my life without you by my side."

"Sonny-"

"You're perfect: smart, beautiful, kind; and you have a good appetite, which is great because I'm Italian and I love to eat."

"And cook." She threw out, Sonny giving her a small nod.

"I love you, with all my heart and I hope that you'll be willing to make me the happiest man alive and marry me?" He popped the lid open on the velvet box and Morgan gently lowered herself down to the floor, taking up residence on her knees. She couldn't vocalize her answer, instead, she nodded frantically and grabbed at his arms, holding herself up so that she didn't fall over from sheer excitement.

Sonny slipped the simply princess cut diamond out of its place in the velvet and placed it on her finger, fighting against gravity to remain upright as she launched herself at him, nearly knocking him over backwards. She planted her lips against his and he finally managed to get his arms around her back, holding her tight against him.

"God Sonny, you're…you're just so perfect." She whispered, not wanting to let go of him. "How could anyone say no to that?"

"Doll, you have no idea how nervous I was."

"Why?" She continued to grin at him, not being able to do anything but. "You had to figure I'd say yes."

"There's always lingering doubt." He teased and leaned forward, pressing another kiss to her lips. She ran her hands up his back and rested them on the sides of his neck, kissing him right back while also trying not to smile too hard.

Her cheeks hurt from how happy she was and she couldn't have predicted this, no way was she expecting him to propose tonight, but he had and she was ecstatic.

He didn't want her anywhere but by his side for as long as he was alive.

This was just the start to their life together and he couldn't wait to see what their future held.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley wasn't entirely sure how she was feeling about life, not since Morgan had gotten engaged two months earlier. She liked the idea of moving forward with Peter but she also hated the idea of leaving Morgan behind. They were the closest thing to sisters that each other had and she remembered promising Morgan that she wasn't going to leave her behind.

But had Morgan made the same promise to Riley? Was Morgan's life with Sonny moving too fast for Riley's liking?

They had been together as a couple for less time than her and Peter, so what did that mean for them? No, she wasn't going to do that to herself, she wasn't going to compare her relationship with Peter to Morgan and Sonny, it was just different.

She had different issues to deal with and currently those issues were still causing her a lot of grief. Did she _want_ to be heading in the same direction with Peter as Morgan had with Sonny? What would she say if suddenly Peter asked her to marry him?

In all fairness it wouldn't actually be all that sudden, hell the two of them had been together for a little over a year, if anything it would be expected, plus when Riley had announced that she wanted to start having unprotected sex, he had been relatively on board. That wasn't panning out either, but for him to propose- Riley wasn't sure how she'd react though because things, in her mind anyway, were just fine.

"You in there?" Peter quipped and she tipped her head sideways, looking at him with wide eyes, slowly blinking at his question as she pulled her thoughts back to what was going on in front of her.

"Yes."

"You look like you were a million miles away just now."

"Lost in thought." She offered up, trying to sound confident in her answer. She knew by the fall of his smile that he knew better. Together a year and she often forgot that he knew her better than maybe even Morgan did, because even Morgan didn't know she was actively trying to get pregnant. "Sorry, I was thinking about Mo."

"Should I be offended?" He joked.

"No." She shook her head gently. "I just never really considered us growing up and moving apart, you know?"

"Sorry I don't."

"When we were little, we just had all these big plans for when we grew up and it seemed so far away back then but yet here we are and suddenly I'm facing the reality of losing her to some guy she's going to marry. It probably sounds stupid, but she's always been there."

"I don't think it sounds stupid." Peter countered. "I never had anyone in the same sense as you had Morgan."

Riley pressed her lips together and dropped her fork to her plate. The two of them were out for dinner at a fancy restaurant, tucked together at a booth in the back where the privacy was the best. She let out a soft sigh and leaned back, tipping her head up so she was looking up at the dim light above them.

"Sorry, I'm being a party pooper." Riley breathed the words out and lifted her hands up, gripping the edge of the table. Before she knew what was happening, he had taken her hands in his and pulled then gently across the table so that their hands were resting on the surface about halfway between them. "Sorry, I just think I have all these hormones ramping through me and we've been trying for a little while for a baby and nothing's happening and I just…I have all these feelings."

"Right, and you can talk to me about any of the above."

"I thought by now I'd at least have hope at getting pregnant, you know?"

"Well what's the next step then?"

"You mean since natural methods aren't working?" She remarked with a small, sad smile. "I guess I need your sperm."

"What?"

"The next step, I don't need it _now_ but like the next idea to try is artificial insemination. I want you to be my baby daddy but if that's not something _you_ want then I can find a donor-"

"Wow, okay no, not what I was getting at. First of all, I've never been asked for my, uh, sperm before so it caught me a little off guard. If that's what you want to do, then I'm right there with you, you don't need some random sperm donor."

"It's weird though." She shrugged, knowing that what she was asking wasn't normal.

Nothing about her reproductive system was normal and Peter had been a god send for being so patient with her. She wanted to have a baby so bad and when she had suggested they try the normal method and go without protection, he had agreed, albeit it had taken him a few days to really get comfortable with the idea.

She loved him for that but that had been a couple months ago and Riley was no closer to getting pregnant.

"I've been looking it all up, it's super weird, I get it." She stated. "Honestly, I guess I just thought that some miracle would come my way and I wouldn't have to consider things like artificial insemination."

"You've already looked it up?" Peter asked and she met his eyes, wondering how insane he thought she was. "I didn't realize you were so hellbent on this."

"Yeah, I don't know." She shrugged at his words, trying to play it off as her not really caring. "Sorry."

"For what? For your feelings? Or for asking me for my sperm?" He pressed and she dropped her gaze to their hands. "Riley, you don't have to apologize to me for how you feel or what you want."

"I think it was more because I've totally killed the mood." She pointed out and forced a laugh in attempt to lighten it back up. He continued to look at her though and she held her breath, wondering what he was going to say. In all actuality, he hadn't said he'd give her his sperm, but then again, she figured he'd want to talk more about it when they weren't at a fancy restaurant on a date.

"I got promoted." Peter blurted out, filling the awkward silence that had fallen between them.

"Promoted?" Riley stared across the table at Peter, her eyes wide with confusion, well that hadn't been what she was expecting him to say but those were the words that had come out of his mouth. "You got promoted?"

The news had been great, sure, but what exactly did that mean for them?

Peter Stone was already a very busy man, did being promoted mean he wasn't going to have any time for her at all. And right when she was getting the hang of actually being in a relationship, he had to go and put a wrench in her plans.

"To District Attorney." He carried on and she pulled her right hand away from him, running it through her hair in a nervous gesture. He leaned back in the booth on his side but didn't let go of her other hand, which he still had a hold of.

"That's fancy." She remarked.

"I was expecting a little more excitement on your part." Peter pointed out and she plastered a smile on her face, but he could easily see that it didn't reach her eyes. "What?"

"Now I feel really, _really_ bad for ruining the mood."

He was out of the booth in a split second and joining her on her side. She let him take her into his arms and hug her tight, knowing that drastic changes generally tended to scare her. Pile that on top of her already somber mood over Morgan getting engaged and he knew he would be dealing with a powder keg unless he could get the situation under control.

"Just calm down." His voice was soothing and she sucked in deep breaths through her nose, letting them out through her mouth for a good minute before leaning back but remaining in his hold. "You didn't ruin the mood, okay, it's fine, I just want you to be okay."

Letting out a small hiccup, she turned sideways in his hold and leaned against his chest, finally feeling herself calming down just the tiniest little bit.

"You're going to be busier." She stated.

"I'll be able to hand cases off to people." He countered.

"So not busier?" She had a hopeful look in her eyes and when he tucked her hair behind her ear, she leaned into his hand.

"I can't say for sure- wait, is that what this is about? You're worried that I'll be too busy…for what exactly? For you? I can tell you right now that I'll always make time for you."

She forced a laugh out and looked up to meet his eyes, "you're too good to me."

"That brings me to what I was really hoping to talk to you about."

"Jesus." She muttered. "There's more?"

"My lease is up in a couple of months and I was thinking maybe we could move in together, find a place for both of us."

She took his offer to heart and wondered what she really wanted to do. She liked the way things were with Morgan and their apartment but she wasn't going to be the one to leave first, and since Morgan hadn't mentioned leaving, she wasn't about to jump into something with Peter, something that involved them looking for a place together, even if it did seem like a logical next step.

For god's sake, what would happen to them if she _did_ finally get pregnant? Would she just live in the apartment with Morgan forever? Was that even a plausible solution?

Riley felt her heart sink at the thought but when the word came out of her mouth, she wasn't all that surprised, "no."

"Maybe you could at least think about it? We're trying to have a baby, I think you owe my offer more consideration than ten seconds."

"I uh…" She trailed off and ran her hands over her thighs, trying not to panic. God why did everything have to happen at once, why couldn't he just take things one step at a time, why couldn't he let her be the one to spring surprises, at least he could handle them better than she could. Promotion, sure, then wait a few weeks, maybe a couple of months even, before springing the idea of moving in together on her.

She hated that this was so hard but it was just the way she was wired. Moving out of the apartment and not having Morgan there to come home to terrified her, but this was Peter she was talking about. Surely they were ready to move in together, but why couldn't she just relax and say yes, why couldn't her brain compute that this was a step in the right direction?

"Just promise me you'll think about it?" Peter pressed and she gave a nod of her head.

She felt him reluctantly peel himself away from her and take up his spot back on the opposite side of the table. She felt her heart starting to decrease in speed and when she looked at him, he was studying her, most likely looking for any signs that she was going to burst into tears right there at the table.

This was a lot for her, and he knew that, but god when was she going to accept that Peter Stone was the one for her. She loved him, she wanted to be with him, but did she want all that at the expense of not having her best friend readily accessible to her whenever she needed her?

Okay, well maybe it was time to let Morgan go, maybe she didn't want to have to rely on her for everything, hell, she was already harbouring a huge secret from her that Peter was very much aware of, maybe it was time for Riley to confide in him instead of going to Morgan all the time?

"District Attorney." She repeated the new job title he had acquired. "You're pretty good at your job then huh? God, that was stupid, I know you're good at your job- I'm doing all sort of things wrong tonight aren't I?"

"Do you want to call it a night?" Peter asked, genuinely worried about her.

Riley shook her head no and picked up her fork, stabbing the piece of meat on her plate as she did so. She didn't want to call it a night, she just wanted her heart to stop pounding all together, she wanted to be excited for him and she wanted to be crazy about the idea of possibly moving in with him, but she just couldn't, she couldn't calm her nerves, she couldn't get over the fact that everything was changing so fast.

"I want to stay." She whispered. "Just don't spring anything else on me, okay?"

"How about one more thing?"

"Oh my god, my poor heart cannot handle anything else. I swear to god, if you get down on one knee, I'm going to pass out-"

"They're offering the ADA position to Sonny." He cut in, laughing at the panic on her face.

Riley couldn't help but laugh along with him, thanking god that this night was almost over. She didn't think she could handle anything else from him.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley seemed off when she arrived home to the apartment but she clearly didn't want to say anything to Morgan, which was clearly evident by the fact that Riley disappeared into her bedroom and didn't come right back out. Morgan debated going in after her but thought better of it, giving her friend just a little bit of time to herself.

When she still didn't come out of her room after half an hour, Morgan made her way to her feet and wandered over, gently knocking on the half open door before walking right in, finding Riley laying on her bed on her back staring at the ceiling. She was still wearing the outfit she had come home it, including the shoes.

"Ry-pie?" Morgan called out to her and Riley turned her head to face Morgan, forcing a smile onto her face as she wandered over and sat down on the bed next to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She let out a sigh and tucked her hands behind her head. Morgan made quick work of peeling Riley's shoes off her feet, dropping them to the floor before laying down next to her friend and poking her in the cheek. "No, I don't know."

"So tell me what's up." Morgan suggested and she too laid on her back, tucking her hands behind her head. "I'm your best friend, you can tell me anything."

_Not anything_ ; that's what Riley's head screamed as her thoughts immediately went to Peter's offer and how quickly she had turned it down.

"Peter got promoted." Riley stated, thinking maybe she could break the ice that way.

"Ha, he finally told you?" Morgan whooped, rolling onto her side and smacking Riley in the side. "Thank god, Sonny told me about it like two days-"

"What?" Riley cut in and darted up into a sitting position. "You _knew_?"

"Yeah." Morgan shrugged, slowly sitting up to follow Riley's lead. "Sonny told me not to say anything…I don't understand why that has you all mopey and depressed."

Riley blew out a breath and shook her head. She honestly didn't know either, it didn't really matter if Morgan knew first because Sonny had been given Peter's old job. So what if he had kept that a secret for a little longer than necessary, it honestly didn't make one bit of difference to Riley.

"Peter asked me to move in with him- no okay, he asked if I wanted to look for a place together." Riley blurted out and Morgan cocked her head sideways, wondering what was really going on here. That sounded like a wonderful idea to Morgan, so why was Riley being all sad and secretive. "I said no."

"What?" Morgan shot back. "Why?"

She leaned towards Morgan and set her hands on her knees, dropping her head to look down at her bed. She didn't want to lose Morgan, she didn't want to give up the apartment that she shared with her best friend, but at the same time, Peter had made an excellent point. Here was Riley, talking about having a baby with him and she barely spent more than a few seconds thinking about moving in with him? What kind of girlfriend was she if she so easily shot him down?

She loved Morgan to pieces though and wanted to not have to lose her. Moving out meant moving on, and Riley wasn't sure she was ready to leave Morgan all alone in the apartment.

"I don't want to leave you here." Riley confessed and Morgan tensed up at her admission. "You're my best friend, I promised you that-"

"Ry, I think it's a great idea for you to move in with Peter." Morgan cut her off. "It sounds like the next step for you two."

Riley stared at Morgan, wondering why she was so supportive of this whole idea. She had been the one who had expressed how much she didn't want Riley to leave, so did that mean there was something more to Morgan wanting her to go?

"What about you?" Riley whispered.

"I'm engaged Ry, I spend almost more time at Sonny's than I do here, and maybe he's sort of, possibly mentioned the idea of me moving in with him." Morgan offered up reluctantly and Riley felt her eyes welling up with tears.

This was why Morgan had been supportive of her moving out, this was the reason why Morgan wasn't trying harder to stay with her. They were both ready to move on but Riley didn't want to leave Morgan behind. It was too late though, it seemed Morgan was just waiting for the right moment to express her desire to move on with Sonny.

"Mo…" Riley trailed off and shook her head, trying to pull herself together. "I told him no…"

"So tell him you changed your mind." Morgan suggested and freed her phone from her pocket, pulling up Google and handing it to Riley. "Type in apartments for rent."

Riley shook her head but her fingers ran across the screen, typing out 'houses for sale' instead of what Morgan suggested. She waited for the search results to load but handed the phone back to Morgan, who took it with a smile and began running through the options that popped up.

There were so many houses; townhouses, bungalows, big fancy houses in all shapes and sizes. There were cheaper houses and more expensive houses and Morgan couldn't help but be drawn to the listing that contained a room that was set up as an office with books completely lining the one wall.

She turned the phone towards Riley who looked at the picture and tilted her head. A genuine smile graced her lips and she leaned against Morgan, letting out a sigh as she did so.

"Tell him you want this place." Morgan commanded and Riley let out a bark of laughter. Yeah it had a little bit of a library and sure Riley really liked that particular room, but there would have to be a lot of discussion between her and Peter about where to live, their price range, and many other things they'd have to agree on. This was a start though and when Morgan texted Riley the web address, Riley pulled her phone off her nightstand and forwarded the link to Peter.

"Are you sure you're ready to split up?" Riley pressed, looking at her phone and waiting for a reply. "Because if you're not, I don't want to pressure you-"

"No, no I definitely want to. I just didn't know how to tell you without making you feel sad or something. I made you promise that you wouldn't leave me and there was no way I wanted to leave you unless I knew you had someone else to go to."

Riley nodded her understanding and felt her phone vibrate in her hand. When she spotted his response, she cocked her head. He had simply texted her a question mark.

Before she had a chance to reply though, her phone began to ring and Morgan ripped it out of Riley's hand and answered it cheerily, then she covered the speaker with her hand and looked at Riley.

"It's your boyfriend." Morgan pointed out. Riley rolled her eyes and smacked Morgan on the shoulder, causing her to drop the device. She lunged for it and held it against her chest as she fought to get away from Morgan, finally making it to her feet and standing just out of her friend's reach. She lifted the phone to her ear and glared at Morgan, who merely relaxed on the bed with a grin.

"What's with the house link?" Peter's voice was confused but Riley had never felt surer about anything.

"Morgan found it; said I should tell you I want this place." Riley countered, running a nervous hand through her hair.

"I can see about a walk-through-"

"Oh my god, you're serious." She cut him off, her eyes widening at how quick he was to try and get her what she wanted. "No, no it's okay. We can…we can take this thing slow but I thought about it and I want to move in with you."

"That's great!"

"Yeah but I want a house." Riley threw out. "With an en suite bathroom."

"Make a list."

"Really?" She squeaked the word out. "It's that easy?"

"What were you expecting? We're going to be living together, I don't want you to go into this without knowing what you want. Sure there might be sacrifices and compromises but at least if I know what you want, I have a starting point."

"Huh." She felt her entire body relax. "I probably don't tell you this as much as I should but I love you and you're really good to me."

"I know." She could almost hear him smirking on the other end of the line. "Seriously, make a list."

"Okay." She nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her. He said his goodbye and she tossed out an 'I love you' before the two of them ended the phone call.

Riley lobbed her phone at Morgan, letting out a cackle of laughter as it hit her friend in the gut, causing Morgan to roll onto her side with a grunt. She then flopped down onto the bed next to her and drew Morgan into her arms.

"You have that man wrapped around your finger." Morgan chuckled.

"He's pretty much perfect." Riley nodded her agreement.

"So when's he going to put a ring on you?" Morgan teased but Riley simply reached out and punched her in the arm, the two of them falling into a pile on the bed together. "You know, you can always ask _him_."

"No." Riley countered. "I am in no hurry to get married."

"Ugh fine." Morgan groaned and curled up against Riley's side, the two of them falling silent and merely enjoying one another's company. Soon enough, they wouldn't be living in the same place together, yet neither girl seemed all that freaked out by that notion anymore.

Things, for both of them, were moving in positive directions.


	13. Chapter 13

It felt weird walking into his old office and not actually having it belong to him, but nonetheless, Peter Stone knew this was a step in the right direction. A promotion was a good thing, even if it felt somewhat bittersweet.

He knew it meant a pay raise, but he also knew it meant more responsibility, but he could handle it. He had been a great ADA, and he'd do just fine as District Attorney, especially with someone as eager and willing to learn as Sonny Carisi, which is exactly who now occupied his old office.

The man still wasn't fully moved in but Peter knew it would take him some time to figure things out, plus there was still new furniture to come in. When Sonny heard him approach though, he dropped what he was doing and planted his hands on his hips, standing at attention as if he was waiting to be told what to do.

This was more of a social call than anything, Peter merely wanted to make sure he had everything he needed and knew what he was supposed to be doing. Honestly, he had every ounce of faith in the man standing before him. Sonny was a good detective and he'd make a great ADA.

"Took my advice on getting rid of that couch." Peter joked, nodding towards the empty spot in the room where his leather couch had resided when he occupied the office.

"Riley informed me that I should heed your advice unless I wanted to catch, and these are her words not mine, 'the clap'. Got to say Stone, your girlfriend is quite the character."

"I won't argue that." Peter shook his head, wondering if this was how things were going to be from here on out. Sonny was dating his girlfriend's best friend, so did that mean there would be a lot of cross-talk? Would he seek Sonny out when he was having relationship trouble and vice versa? Honestly, it was sort of nice to have someone who at least _knew_ Riley and was familiar with her 'quirks'.

"You're lucky to have her."

Right, yes, Sonny had a sort of mutual respect for Riley, even if she was a little out of the ordinary. If it hadn't been for Riley, then him and Morgan wouldn't have worked things out as quickly as they did, plus she was a genuinely nice girl, even if she was a little off at times.

"Let me ask you something." Peter tossed out and Sonny waved at him to carry on. "Have you ever had a girl as you for your sperm?"

Sonny cocked his head sideways and before he could register what was happening, Peter was closing the door to his office and giving them as much privacy as possible. Sonny continued to stare at the man, wondering what exactly he meant and why the hell he was asking him this.

"Is there any context to that?" Sonny quipped. "What's the reason anyone would want…sperm?"

"For the sake of argument, cult magic." Peter threw back with a smirk.

"I'm going to start by admitting that no, I have never had a girl ask for _that,_ but now I'm curious as to what the real reason is because you and I both know that Riley isn't in to cult magic, she gets freaked out by Ouija boards."

"Then you have to keep this next part a secret, especially from Morgan." Peter pressed.

Sonny sucked in a breath and let out a low whistle, wondering if he could actually keep a secret from Morgan without finding himself in trouble later on. In all fairness, he wasn't entirely sure this was a good place to start but if Peter needed a confidante then at the very least Sonny could provide him that, right?

"Like lawyer-client confidentiality?" Sonny joked.

"Not quite like that." Peter smirked back. "Riley wants kids, but we've been trying for a couple of months now and nothing's happened. Her next step involves my sperm."

"Oh." Well it wasn't often that Sonny found himself speechless but Peter Stone had given him so much information in such a short statement. Him and Riley were actively trying to get pregnant but yet nothing had come from it. She wanted kids so bad that she was thinking of further steps to get that result. Sonny wracked his brain but came up empty, slowly realizing that this was something Morgan did _not_ know about her best friend.

"Apparently she googled it and everything." Peter added casually, trying to reign Sonny back in.

"What are we talking here?"

"Artificial insemination."

"But with _you_." Sonny added, more so that he could grab an extra few seconds to pull his thoughts together.

"Right, exactly."

"So instead of a random sperm donor, it'd be you."

"Yes."

Well that was not at all what he was expecting when Peter had wandered into his office. He had been expecting him to hand off a case to him or give him some sort of work to do, not tell him that Riley was trying to have a baby and she wanted it so much that she was willing to try clinical methods.

"How long have you been trying?" Sonny wasn't sure he really wanted to carry on this conversation but another part of him couldn't help himself. At the very least, this was one of the most intriguing conversations he'd had in his new office.

"Two months, give or take."

"And she's already talking about taking that a step further?"

"She is. I'm just not sure how I feel about it." Peter confessed and Sonny instantly nodded his head in agreement.

"Well…honestly it sounds like a conversation best had with Riley." Sonny was trying to stay diplomatic, but he was fully aware that Stone was looking for more than that. "What aren't you sure about?"

"I don't really know."

"It sounds kind of quick to me, if you've only been trying for a couple of months, maybe try for a couple more." Sonny suggested. While that sounded like a great idea to Peter, he knew that Riley was pretty much already set on moving forward. He couldn't exactly tell her no either, he knew there was more to this that he wasn't telling Sonny, but he wasn't ready to go there with him just yet. "You two aren't even married, that goes against all the catholic ways."

Peter offered him up a smile and nodded his understanding, "she and I are going to move in together though."

"Morgan told me." Sonny smiled back. "She sort of had to, if Riley wasn't moving out, then she wasn't going to move in with me."

Yes their girlfriends were best friends and it made it hard to talk to one another about them, but who was to say this wasn't an advantage for them. Sonny could work with Peter and Peter could work with him, the girls wouldn't need to know how far their friendship went.

Plus it was only fair, seeing as Riley and Morgan were as thick as thieves.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

In all the times that Morgan had walked into the ADA's office, it had never once been to see Sonny so this trip for her was weird to start with. To make it even weirder, Riley was walking right along next to her carrying two bottles of whiskey, one in each of her arms.

"I've never dated lawyer before." Morgan whispered, sticking as close to Riley as she could. This was all new to her, but also exciting. She got to go visit Sonny when she needed documents for work, so while they weren't still partners, it was as close as she could get.

Plus honestly, working SVU with her boyfriend- no fiancé- was starting to get a lot more awkward than she ever could've imagined. There were constant jokes being tossed around about her and Carisi but she was hoping they'd ease up once he was gone for more than a week.

"Hmm, lawyers are good to date." Riley murmured back. "They can always get you out of trouble."

"Yeah, that's easy for you to say but I'm a good, law-abiding citizen."

"Hey, I've never been in trouble." Riley countered.

"You've just never gotten caught." Morgan grinned back at her and Riley couldn't help but shake her head with a smile.

It was true, but she wasn't going to let Morgan bask in the satisfaction of getting the upper hand on her, not this time anyways. The two of them kept walking and once Sonny's office appeared within their sight, Morgan dashed ahead and burst through the door, which had been half open to start with. She let out a squeal and launched herself at Sonny, who barely had enough time to turn around and catch her.

Riley let out a snort at the two and stepped into the office herself, taking a look around. It was different enough to how Peter had it set up that she wasn't thrown for a loop but it was similar enough that she knew he hadn't yet managed to make it his own.

"Here you are Mr. Fancy Lawyer Guy." Riley spoke up and offered him one of the bottles of whiskey. He finagled himself so that he had one arm around Morgan and then took the whiskey from her with a grin. "It's a gift, congrats on your new job."

"Thanks Ry." Sonny beamed at her and she shook her head with a smirk.

"Right then, I see you got rid of the couch." Riley pointed out.

"Got a new one to christen." Morgan laughed and stuck her tongue out at Riley. "Hey, it'll be nice now we can have sex where you work Sonny Bunny."

"Yeah that would've been awkward before." Riley snorted.

"The couch is for clients-"

"And fiancés." Morgan cut him off, leveling him with a smirk. "So much fiancé couch sex is coming your way."

"Don't forget the desk, it's almost more fun than the couch." Riley shot back. "Or against the wall- oh shouldn't have told you that, now you have to get new walls."

"You're such a slut." Morgan teased and Riley merely smiled back at her.

"On that note, I will leave you two to have fun in Mr. Fancy Lawyer Guy's new office."

"You can still call me Sonny." Sonny retorted.

"Yeah, maybe in a little bit. I like the idea of my best friend dating a fancy lawyer guy." Riley stated.

With a wave of her free hand, she turned on her heels and headed back out into the hallway, shaking her head in amusement at the sound of his door clicking shut. She just hoped that they locked it if they were going to be doing any of what Riley was thinking.

Carrying on down the hallway, she took in the sights around her, never having paid much attention to her surroundings because she had rarely gone past what was now Sonny's office. There was only one thing on her mind though and when she arrived at Peter's _new_ office, she knocked on the door and waited for him to call out for her to come in.

She hesitantly opened the door and slipped inside, shutting it tight behind her. When she closed in on him, she moved the whiskey from her arm to her hands and gingerly set it on the edge of his fancy shmancy new desk with a grin on her face.

"Hey _counselor_." She purred jokingly.

"Oh hey, I wasn't expecting you today." Peter remarked and leaned back in his chair, giving her a once over as he did so.

"Morgan was going to see Sonny and I told her I had something for him, so I tagged along." She explained and tapped the top of the whiskey with her finger. "Brought something for you too."

He looked at the bottle of alcohol and gave an approving nod before turning in his chair. She didn't have to wait for a verbal invitation, so Riley closed the distance between them and sat down on his lap, feeling his arms slipping around her middle to hold her steady.

"I like this place." Riley motioned around the room, taking it all in.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice." He replied and pressed his forehead against her bicep, letting out a soft sigh.

"What?" She lifted a hand up and ran her fingers through his hair and he reluctantly leaned his head back to meet her eyes. "Oh, sorry, I'm bugging you, aren't I? Here you are trying to be all good and hard-working and I interrupt you to bring you alcohol. I can go."

"What? No." He shook his head and met her eyes. "I just…there's some things I want to talk to you about."

"Okay." She stared at him and felt his arms tighten around her. "You want to see other people now that you're a big wig?"

He scoffed at her immediately and she felt the tiniest bit of relief, because even if she was joking, some days she wondered how she had gotten so lucky, "no, I just don't think I'm ready for you to take the next step when it comes to having kids."

She ran her hands up to his shoulders and rested them there, taking in his words. Huh, okay, well that wasn't what she was expecting at all. She wasn't sure what she was expecting him to say but she figured it would be something more along the lines of what he wanted in a house, or where he thought a good place to live might be.

"What do you mean?" She pressed, not entirely sure where she had lost him on the idea. "Like you don't want to hand over your sperm or-"

"That's part of it."

"Well then." She trailed off and held her breath for a second, trying to decide what she was going to do with this new information. "What's the other part?"

"If I say no- you mentioned getting another donor and I don't want that either."

She took his words to heart and let out a sigh of her own. God, she had royally screwed this up. She hadn't meant to push him into something that he didn't necessarily want, she had merely offered up the idea of a random donor in case- well she honestly wasn't sure what the 'in case' would be. She just knew she wanted to have kids and she was going to do it, no matter what she had to do to get there.

Until now she had assumed that Peter was on the same page as her but it was clear that he wasn't. Was this something she should've picked up on earlier? Should she have been more attentive towards him?

"No." She shook her head. "No, I want you."

"Riley-"

"You don't want to do this with me now, or ever? Because we've been trying for a couple months now and I don't want you to think that…that you're not important to me." She pressed, desperate to know what he was thinking, what did he assume was in their future? Did he not want kids at all? Or did he just not want them with her?

She was a damaged woman in the eyes of her college boyfriend but Peter had assured her over and over again that she was perfect in his eyes. So what exactly was he trying to do here? Let her down easy because he didn't want kids, because suddenly his career was more important? There were so many things flowing through her mind and she could feel her heart starting to pound because she was starting to think the worst.

His arms loosened ever so slightly but she remained sitting on his lap, trying not to freak out. She didn't want him to say he didn't want kids but if he did, she knew she'd have a hard time figuring out if she could continue to be with him. She loved him too much to simply say it was over if he decided he didn't want a family.

"Now." Peter said after a moment of hesitation. "I think I want to slow down."

"So you still _want_ to have a family, right?" She didn't want to sound desperate but she knew if she didn't get the very blunt answer she was looking for then she'd never be able to calm herself down. "One day?"

"Yes."

"Okay." She bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Obviously I'm not a very good girlfriend if I made you think I was going to do this with or without you, that wasn't the intention at all. I want you; I will always want you and if you want to _not_ do this now, then I can accept that, so long as you want to have kids with me eventually." The words came out of her mouth faster than she could think them up but once they were out there, she let out a sigh of relief and relaxed into his hold. Panic attack averted, god she was getting better at fending them off, and it definitely helped that Peter was a pretty understanding and approachable boyfriend.

"Eventually sounds good. Maybe once we have a place to live, we can talk about this again?" Peter offered.

"What like 'once we have a house, you'll give me your sperm'?" She teased and even went as far as to lean her head against his shoulder.

"Something like that." He smiled.

She didn't say anything more to him, not knowing what else was running through his head. She wanted him to feel like he could talk to her about anything and not worry about leading her towards a state of panic. She hated how unlike herself she had been feeling lately but things were chaotic, and her mind was all over the place, not to mention she now had to deal with the idea of no longer living with Morgan.

But Peter was her future and she was excited to be with him. He made her happy, understood her better than pretty much anyone and he was always supportive of her. She just hoped that he hadn't felt bullied into other things by her.

"Want to know a secret?" She whispered.

"Do I?"

"I'm not wearing any underwear." She grinned and he stiffened underneath her, which only caused her to let out a bark of laughter. "Oh my god, I'm seriously kidding."

"You're a tease."

"Just because I'm not _not_ wearing underwear doesn't mean we can't start christening your new office, seeing as I _did_ wear my favourite pair of 'fuck me' heels." She pointed out. "Maybe I'll leave here not wearing any underwear though, what a thought!"

"You're being a bad girl."

"Sue me." She cooed and when he stood up, taking her with him, she let out a shriek of delight.

Yes, this was exactly what she wanted, she just hoped that things would continue to go just as well.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Morgan wasn't sure how to break it to Riley that Sonny was on his way over with boxes to pack up her stuff in. She certainly didn't want to waltz into the kitchen where her friend was cooking dinner for Peter, who was in the kitchen with her, and just announce that she was going to start moving out right now. Then again, she didn't really want to break it to Riley at all.

Things were going alright between them but Morgan knew that it would probably shock Riley to know how quickly things were going to start to change for the two of them, hell it had barely been a week since Morgan suggested maybe Riley should move in with Peter.

A week felt like forever to her because she just wanted to get on with her life with Sonny. They were engaged, living together was the logical next step, and since she no longer saw him at work, she was desperate to spend more and more time with her fiancé. She was excited to get out of the apartment, but still a little saddened to have to leave her friend behind.

"Hey Ry!" Morgan called out and wandered into the kitchen, finding Riley in her work clothes consisting of a fancy top and tight black skirt. She was working away at the stove while Peter, also in his work clothes but without his suit jacket and tie, was cutting up the meat that would go into the wok for stir fry. "You guys look so domesticated, it's adorable."

"Sexy." Riley countered.

"Sexy? Domestication is sexy now?" Morgan cocked her head sideways and studied her friend. "Okay, yeah, maybe. It's like when Sonny makes me dinner, he's so sexy."

"Ugh barf, that's gross." Riley barked back but it was clear she was merely teasing. "I don't need to hear about your sex life."

"You're the slut in this apartment." Morgan teased right back.

"Former slut." Riley retorted.

"You can still be a slut and be in a relationship." Morgan stated and looked at Stone for back up. He merely raised his hands in surrender and shot Riley a smirk. "Hey so in your new house, are you going to have a sex dungeon?"

"What?" Peter quipped.

"No." Riley shook her head.

"Wait, don't I get a say?" Peter looked from Morgan to Riley, who pressed her lips together and shook her head again. "Maybe I want a sex dungeon."

Morgan cackled as she sat down at the table, clearly ready for an entertaining conversation between her best friend and her best friend's boyfriend. Riley stared at him but he wasn't backing down. If this was a real argument, Morgan wasn't sure who she was rooting for- wait, was this a real argument? Were they legitimately about to fight over a sex dungeon?

"Honestly, I don't think you really do." Riley said seriously and Morgan turned her attention to Riley. How did her friend seem so familiar with the topic at hand? Morgan raised her hand into the air as if she was asking permission to ask a question but Riley turned her attention towards her. "Yeah Mo?"

"Have you been in a sex dungeon before?" Morgan asked, studying Riley intensely.

"Do I even want to know?" Peter threw out and Riley rolled her eyes at the two of them.

"You fuck a lot of guys like I used to, the odds are pretty good that you're going to end up with a freak at some point." Riley offered up, as if it was the simplest answer in the world. Morgan raised her hand again and Riley glared at her, but it didn't stop her from asking even more.

"Legit?" Morgan managed to get the one word out and suddenly everyone was looking at Riley, waiting for her to explain what had happened on this so called 'freak' date.

"I didn't actually participate in any weird sex but he had like a '50 Shades' sort of fuck room in his basement. He gave me the safe word and I used it right then. Don't get me wrong, I like sex as much as the next girl but not like _that_." Riley explained and fixed a pointed look towards Peter. "No sex dungeon."

"I didn't actually want one." Peter replied, his eyes locked on Riley. There was a lot about her past that he didn't know, nor did Morgan, but this didn't really surprise anyone.

She had a point, there were quite a few guys she had slept with once upon a time and it was easy to see that they wouldn't all be normal, run of the mill guys.

"I thought you just said you didn't need to hear about my sex life?" Morgan threw out and Riley nodded her head. "Okay well I'm sitting here wondering a lot of things about yours."

"Same." Peter added.

"I'm not…we're not going there right now." Riley stated firmly. "Especially not with you Mo."

"Oh come on!" Morgan whined, throwing her hands into the air. "You're like…you're like a sex genius-"

"Was." Riley cut her off.

"Still are." Peter smirked.

"I just want to know how to not bore my Sonny Bunny." Morgan pouted and Riley couldn't help but scoff. "What?"

"You two are so vanilla it's sad." Riley laughed. "You're a detective still, please tell me you take your handcuffs over to his place when you go?"

Morgan tipped her head sideways and maintained an even stare on Riley. Seriously? Morgan was a cop and she was asking for clarification on how to spice up her sex life when she had so many tools at her disposal?

"Hand cuffs sound like fun." Peter nodded.

"For you maybe." Riley muttered. "He wears ties still, they're not quite as good as hand cuffs but it's the same general idea."

"Just be careful you don't rip them." Peter added.

"Okay one time." Riley leveled him with a glare. "And I bought you a new one."

"So many things, I am learning so many things." Morgan chuckled.

Riley turned her attention back to the wok but before anyone could toss in their two cents yet again, the door to the apartment flung open and Morgan leapt to her feet. She met Sonny at the entrance to the kitchen and planted a kiss on his lips, grasping the boxes that were flattened and residing in his hands.

"Hey Mr. Fancy Lawyer Guy." Riley tossed him a wave and Morgan snorted at her friend's nickname, a nickname that she still hadn't given up. "Your girlfriend wants a sex dungeon."

"A what?" Sonny fired back and Morgan let out another laugh as she gave his chest a light smack. "Seriously, a what?"

"Come on." Morgan grabbed at his arm and tried to steer him away from the kitchen but he didn't move, instead he started up a conversation with Riley and Peter, Morgan letting out a soft sigh as she led him to the table and sat down in the chair across from him.

She just wanted to start getting things packed up because the sooner she got things packed, the sooner she could start moving in with him and she was way too excited to be moving in with Sonny to put it off much longer.

"You brought boxes." Riley stated, giving Sonny a death glare.

"Yeah, we're going to be packing some of my stuff." Morgan answered, trying to keep Riley's anger directed away from Sonny. "I will need to schedule you and your boyfriend to help me in the next few weeks."

"With what?" Riley questioned.

"We're moving my bed to his place because it's nicer." Morgan answered.

"Ah yes, and has more places to tie him up to." Riley tossed out.

"Seriously." Morgan deadpanned but Riley broke out into a grin. Okay, maybe she was going to be more understanding about this whole moving out thing than Morgan was anticipating. She knew change was hard for Riley, but she had been expecting Riley to chain herself to the door or something and refuse to let her leave.

"Less squeaky." Sonny added with a smile of his own.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you." Riley teased. "Are you joining us for dinner Sonny Bunny?"

"You know, it's only cute when _I_ call him that." Morgan shot back.

"Is it?" Riley prodded.

"And it's not like your boyfriend has a silly nickname that I can call _him_ when you're around."

"Not that you _know_ of." Peter chuckled.

"Peter- oh my god, why did I not think of this before?" Morgan's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Sonny Bunny and Peter rabbit."

"Get out." Riley groaned. "Seriously, get out of my kitchen before I stir fry your face you turd."

"Oh I'm sorry, is it not cute when I call your boyfriend silly nicknames? Peter Rabbit, what do you think?" Morgan was clearly enjoying herself. She rose to her feet and grabbed Sonny's arm before leading him out of the kitchen, pausing in the doorway. She looked back at Riley and stuck her tongue out.

"Congrats you bitch, I will be funding the construction of your sex dungeon for your next birthday." Riley said, serious as hell. "And I work for engineering company, I know people who can give me great deals on swings and tables and all sorts of things that you're too vanilla to even try."

"Who you calling vanilla?" Sonny shot back, but he was evidently enjoying himself because of the big smile plastered on his face. "Also, maybe I already have a sex dungeon."

"Hmm, you would." Riley looked him over and gave him a disapproving shake of her head.

"Okay, well bye Peter Rabbit and Thumper, we're going to go pack my things now." Morgan announced and pranced out of the kitchen.

Riley watched her go and shook her head once again before looking over at Peter. He couldn't help but laugh at the entirety of the conversation that had just happened before his very eyes. These two girls were highly entertaining; he would never deny that.

"So what was his safe word?" Peter asked and Riley furrowed her eyebrows. "The guy, you said he had a sex dungeon. What was his safe word?"

"Poppycock." Riley answered with a firm nod of her head.

All he could do was laugh.


	14. Chapter 14

The idea of shopping for a wedding dress had Morgan feeling all sorts of things; she was excited because, well who wouldn't be, but she was also a little- no a lot- nervous. What if she picked the wrong dress, or she found what she thought was the right one and then ended up finding a better one down the road?

Was she going to get a fun fuzzy 'I know this is my dress' feeling when she managed to find what she thought was the perfect dress or would she be left feeling sad and disappointed because that feeling never occurred?

She also wasn't a big fan of dresses in general, but at least she had Riley and Amanda Rollins to help her this particular day. She had managed to get an appointment at one of the larger bridal shops in Manhattan and invited her best friend and her best friend from _work_. Yes, these two girls would work well together, Riley would help her find something sexy yet elegant and Amanda would remind her that she would probably need to breathe and should steer away from corsets.

When she walked into the shop and laid her eyes on the trio of Sonny's sisters though, Morgan froze in her tracks and silently prayed to the heavens above that this wouldn't end up as a total disaster. They were nice Italian catholic females, Riley and Amanda were the devils they would normally try to smite.

Well at the very least, it would be an eventful trip to the bridal boutique.

"Sonny told us you had an appointment here." One of Sonny's sisters stated, the one that Morgan knew to be Gina. "I'm kind of surprised _you_ didn't invite us yourself."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Riley stepped forward, her tone laced with sweetness but Morgan knew it wasn't really genuine.

"Sonny's sisters." Morgan piped up. "Gina, Bella and Theresa."

"Right okay, well the reason she didn't ask you herself was because-"

"Because I thought it would be easier for Sonny to do it." Morgan cut Riley off and leveled her with a pleading look. God they weren't even fully into the bridal gowns and there was already tension so thick it could be cut with a knife. What the hell was Morgan supposed to do to keep the peace.

At the very least she could reign in Riley, she'd understand. Rollins was a different story and there was no way she was going to be anything but nice to Sonny's sisters. She just wanted everyone to get along, but she knew that was a huge ask.

"Have you decided on colours?" Bella piped up and Morgan could see that she was at least trying to play nice too. "For the wedding I mean, obviously not your dress, that'll be white."

"Not pure white though." Riley waved her off, knowing what Morgan wanted in a dress. They had already talked about it in the cab on the way over and honestly, Riley was all kinds of ready to stand up for her best pal. "And lacey, we have to have lace."

"I like satin." Gina tossed out.

"I love the idea of tulle." Theresa threw in. Riley bit her tongue and grabbed Morgan's hand, leading her into the boutique further where they were finally met by a lovely looking lady who clearly worked there.

She greeted all six females with a grin and asked which one of them was the bride, Morgan immediately throwing her hand up out of sheer excitement. Riley gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and followed the rest of the group into the area where Morgan would model gowns while the lady who worked there, who's nametag read 'Mikayla', ushered Morgan back towards a changing area.

"You asked about colours earlier." Amanda spoke up, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over them all. It was clear to see that there were sides to this dress thing, Riley and Amanda sat on one couch while the three sisters sat on a second couch across from them.

"Yeah, do you know what they are?" Bella quipped and Riley sat up straighter on the couch.

"Black and gold." Riley answered proudly. "We're supposed to be in black dresses-"

"What? No way am I wearing a black dress to a wedding. Black dresses are what you wear to funerals." Gina was practically growling the words out but Riley could remain level-headed, at least for a little while longer. She had a breaking point, and this wasn't it- _yet_.

"Black is what you wear when you want to be _fucked_." Riley countered, emphasizing the last word. She then ran her hands over her black skirt with a smirk, wondering if she was going to hell for pissing off three catholic women all at once. "And I for one think it's a great choice for bridesmaids dresses."

"I think a pale pink colour would be better." Theresa tossed out and Amanda lifted a hand up in a lame attempt to keep the peace.

"It's Morgan's day, therefore her choice." Amanda said calmly but she could tell by the snooty look on Theresa's face that this wasn't over, not by a long shot.

Another awkward silence fell over them but this time no one was brave enough to try and break it, instead, they all just waited quietly for Morgan, who came out minutes later in a big ball gown as pure white as snow. Riley and Amanda could tell that it wasn't her dress but the three sisters lit up at the sight.

"Oh Morgan you look so beautiful." Gina remarked, Theresa eagerly nodding along with her. Bella seemed like she thought Morgan looked wonderful too but the mischievous sparkle in her eye wasn't quite as obvious as her other two sisters.

"I really like this dress." Theresa added with a giant smile.

"Makes your hips look huge." Riley said to her honestly, not even worrying about hurting her feelings because she knew it wasn't the dress for Morgan. Amanda, diplomatic as ever, just didn't say anything but when Morgan looked to her, she gave the dress the stink eye. "Lace Mo, we need lace, not this shit."

"Oh and Morgan, what's this about us having to wear black dresses?" Gina asked and Riley leveled the woman with a glare so intense that Gina flinched just a tiny little bit. "Black is funeral attire, not for a wedding. Unless you think marrying my brother is _like_ a funeral."

"It's going to be your funeral in about thirty seconds if you don't shut up." Riley mumbled next to Amanda, who shot her a smile of agreement.

"I just think that a soft salmon colour would be so ambient."

"Just like my foot up your ass." Riley ground the words out, feeling her jaw clenching more and more with each passing second. "Okay Mo, show us the next one and remember, we need to see some lace, you love the lace."

"Okay." Morgan nodded her head and left the five females, heading back to the change room where she immediately stripped herself out of the ball gown and dropped down to sit on the little stool within the squared off room to change. Mikayla brought her in a lovely mermaid style gown with a little bit of lace on the bodice as well as the trim but it wasn't enough in Morgan's eyes.

Plus it was sleeveless. She was thinking that maybe she would have sleeves because sleeves made all the wedding dresses she had seen look way more elegant.

"Are we on the right track at all?" Mikayla asked politely and Morgan shook her head no. "Okay, well was there anything you liked about the first one, or this one?"

"Not really. I want like a lace sleeve and an A-line skirt, not mermaid. I want to be able to walk and dance without having to hold my knees together all night." Morgan explained and felt a little better about things as the shop assistant left her alone in the change room.

It was a minute or so later when she heard a commotion outside of her dressing room and when she peeled the curtain back, she fought hard to not roll her eyes at the sight of Gina and Theresa walking towards her with a big, poofy, tulle gown that was covered in huge crystal details.

Jesus Christ, this was the complete opposite of what she wanted. She wanted elegant, not tacky. Classy not trashy. Ugh, what was wrong with these girls, it was her day, not theirs and she was going to get the dress she wanted.

She was so annoyed that she was tempted to leave the boutique right that instant and book another appointment for a different day, a day where she'd be able to go try on dresses without the three sisters to get in her way.

"You _have_ to try this one on. Isn't it just _so_ pretty?" Gina held the dress out to her and Morgan took it in her hands reluctantly, looking at it closely and deciding that Sonny's sisters had terrible taste when it came to wedding dresses.

She expected Riley to steer her towards dresses that would be considered a little on the sexy side but this was just ridiculous. It looked like a chandelier but in dress form (and not even a nice chandelier).

"Please try it on?" Theresa pleaded and Morgan, who just wanted everyone to be nice and civil, found herself nodding, but not actually saying a word. Gina and Theresa left the dress in Morgan's possession and headed back to the waiting area, taking their seats on the couch where Bella had remained.

Amanda crossed her arms over her chest and held her gaze on the three sisters while Riley slowly rose up to her feet and casually wandered towards where Morgan was. She knocked on the wall supporting the curtain and when Morgan called out a 'what' to her, she poked her head in and frowned at the sight of her half in and half out of the ugly chandelier dress.

"Oh my god." Riley gaped and slipped inside the curtain with her friend, setting her hands on Morgan's arms and trying to comfort her. "Stop."

"But they wanted me to try it on." Morgan argued flatly.

"Okay and do _you_ want to try it on?" Riley pressed and Morgan shook her head no, quite aggressively too. "Then don't. I'm here, I can handle them, you just focus on what you want and tell me when you want me to kick their asses."

"You can't beat up three catholic girls."

"Why not, I'm already going to hell. In fact, don't be surprised if I burst into flames when I walk into the church on your wedding day. God doesn't look down too kindly on sluts."

"You're not…"

"I am, it's okay. Doesn't change what I'm saying to you. This is your wedding dress, if you don't want to try something on, don't." Riley gave her arms a gentle squeeze.

Mikayla called out from outside the curtain and the two girls pulled it back, letting her show off the three dresses she had in her possession. One was a simple sleeveless gown with lace trim, one was a gown with capped laced sleeves and a lace overly and the last one was a slightly off-white gown, covered in lace which was paired with a long-sleeved lace, off the shoulder top.

"The second one." Morgan pointed to the one that was capped sleeved. Riley nodded her encouragement and waited for her to strip off the gaudy gown, watching as Mikayla hung up her three choices before grabby the tacky diamond dud and disappearing with it.

Morgan stepped into the gown she wanted and Riley remained to help her, the two of them managing to get her into the gown easily. When it was zipped up the back, Morgan stepped out and glanced in the mirror before going out any further.

"I can't believe my baby's getting married." Riley faked a sob and gave Morgan a gentle pat on the back.

"Shut your face." Morgan grumbled but couldn't help the smile spreading out over her face. She swished her hips back and forth, loving the cut of the bottom, but the top felt like it was missing a little something.

"More ba-bam." Riley nodded but Morgan surged ahead anyways. At least if the Carisi sisters saw what she was looking for, maybe they'd be a little more helpful and a lot less intrusive to her wedding planning.

When she stepped out into the middle of the four girls left out of the dressing room, Amanda sucked in a breath while Bella nodded her head in approval. The other two sisters had very evident scowls on their faces.

Riley came up behind Morgan and spread the train out, running her hands over the intricate lace detail of the dress.

"What happened to the dress we found for you? It was pretty much perfect." Gina said.

"Yeah I know toddlers who could do better jewel work on a toga." Riley fired back and for the first time since they walked into the boutique, Gina was rendered speechless. However, that still left Theresa, who apparently was right there to back up her sister.

"Your opinion shouldn't count because you're a bad influence."

"I'll show you a bad influence." Riley lifted her fist up but Amanda leapt to her feet, gently nudging Riley back to the couch.

"That dress looks amazing on you Lou." Amanda threw out. She genuinely meant it but she also felt the need to break the tension a teeny tiny little bit. "The lace is definitely a good choice."

"Lace is for good girls." Gina snorted.

"That why you didn't wear it on your wedding day?" Riley fired back.

"What? How'd you know-"

"Classless gal like you, it's not hard to figure out." Riley smirked at her and relaxed against the back of the couch. Morgan shook her head at the bitch fest surrounding her and moved back to her dressing room without a word.

Riley literally growled at the three girls across the way, even going as far as to bare teeth, but when Amanda gave her knee a rough pat, Riley seemed to calm right down. They were here for Morgan, they could play nice just for a little longer.

"You didn't grow up with sisters did you?" Amanda teased and Riley merely shook her head no. "Consider yourself lucky. They bring out the worst in you."

"I can do that all by myself." Riley countered, flashing Amanda a grin.

"You know, Morgan doesn't need you looking out for her all the time." Amanda pointed out. Riley knew this was true but she couldn't help but be protective of her friend. They had spent many years together, they were best friends, they knew each other's deepest, darkest secrets- well okay, maybe not the deepest, darkest secrets but there wasn't a lot Morgan didn't know about Riley, or that Riley didn't know about Morgan.

"I know." Riley sighed. "It's just a hard habit to break."

"I get that."

This time when the silence fell over them, it was almost peaceful, warranted Amanda and Riley were trying to ignore the sisters and doing rather well at it. The sisters were just sitting on the couch being quiet, well they were until Morgan walked out in the lace gown with the lace top covering it.

God she looked beautiful and the dress itself looked like a million bucks. Morgan was quite the sight and Riley knew this was her dress. It fit her like a glove, hugged her in all the right places, the skirt flared out just below her hips and the lace long sleeves added such an elegance that Riley could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

"Jesus, you don't have to cry." Gina muttered but Riley was too busy watching Morgan standing there in _her_ dress. "It's not that ugly."

"It's perfect." Amanda whispered.

Mikayla came up behind Morgan and gingerly placed a matching lace veil on her head and Riley reached up to brush the falling tears away.

When Morgan looked at her, she knew this was the dress. She felt warm and happy in it, she felt like it belonged on her body; it felt comfortable enough to spend the day in without issues but it was also sleek, sexy, elegant and purely Morgan.

She felt like a bride.

"It's gorgeous." Riley managed to get the words out and Morgan threw her a smile. She turned around, looking at herself in the mirror from as many angles as she possibly could, yet she couldn't find a single flaw in this particular gown.

"This is it." Morgan breathed the words out and felt tears welling up in her eyes too. When she looked at Amanda, her partner had a giant smile on her face too. Yes, this was it, this was the dress she was going to wear down the aisle to marry Sonny Carisi. This is the dress she'd wear when she became Morgan Carisi, and it was perfect.

"Are you sure?" Theresa stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, looking over every inch of the dress. "I still think you should've tried on-"

"This is it." Amanda cut her off. "This is her dress."

"Thank god you're here." Morgan sighed. "Too bad I couldn't just have you and Riley as my bridal party, there's just too many Carisis."

"Yeah and none of them know how to shut their mouths." Riley glared at the three of them and while they all remained silent, Bella raised her hands in defeat. In all fairness, she hadn't been _as_ bad as the other two, but she also hadn't done anything to stop them either. "Mikayla darling, can we please get this dress?"

"Of course!" Mikayla grinned and took off to get ready to get Morgan's dress.

Morgan looked in the mirror again, Riley on her one side and Amanda on the other, the three of them not able to contain the smiles on their faces.

"This is all so real all of a sudden." Morgan said softly. "It's kind of scary."

"Just kind of though, right?" Amanda asked.

"Yes. Kind of scary, really, _really_ , exciting."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

When the two girls walked into the bar, Morgan's face immediately lit up at the sight of Sonny sitting in a booth against the wall, Peter across the table from him. He had a plate of fries in his possession and a bottle of beer gently grasped in his hand while Peter had both of his palms pressed against the sides of his beer.

"I'll grab us a beer." Riley offered and gave Morgan a gentle shove towards the booth, which was all the encouragement she needed.

She was off and when Morgan arrived at the table, she practically flopped into the booth next to Sonny and leaned against his side, wrapping her hands around his bicep and letting out a sigh.

"Hey doll." Sonny greeted her and slid the plate of fries closer to her, and Morgan immediately grabbed one, popping it into her mouth. "How was dress shopping?"

"Fun story, your sisters showed up." Morgan shot back, still partially chewing her fry. "Here I was thinking I'd have a nice relaxing appointment to look at dresses with my best friend and current work pal and I find myself face to face with three female Carisis."

"Technically they're not all Carisis, not anymore-"

"Don't care. You're so lucky I love you because my god, they are a handful." Morgan let out a low growl at the thought of how she had almost tried on the tacky chandelier dress. Why had she let them push her around, aside from wanting to make everyone happy, it was clear that the dress wasn't for her, but they had wanted to see her in it and she could hardly say no, not to their faces.

Thank god Riley had no problem being a bitch to them, or Amanda for that matter.

"I just assumed you'd want them there." Sonny explained and Morgan leveled him with a glare.

"Did you at least find a dress?" Peter broke in, sensing that this conversation could go all sorts of wrong before he knew it.

"Yes." Morgan gave him a smile, big and bright. "Thank god Riley was there or else I would've had to try on this hideous dress that was covered in plastic looking fake diamonds and- my god it was just so tacky, so not what I wanted."

Riley walked over to the table carrying two beers and set one down in front of Morgan before sliding in next to Peter, leaning against his side and pressing a kiss against his cheek in greeting. Sonny slid the plate towards Riley but she merely shook her head no, her body visibly relaxing now that the horror at the dress shop was officially over.

"You telling them about the chandelier dress?" Riley quipped.

"Yes."

"Your sisters have shit taste." Riley stated bluntly and Morgan pointed her finger at Riley, nodding along with her. "We say Morgan wants a lace dress and they waltz into her dressing room with a satin disaster. Then, my god, they have the nerve to question her choice as if the dress she is in love with isn't right for her. I have not wanted to punch someone in the throat more than right then."

"So riled." Peter nudged her and she let her head drop down to his shoulder. "Was it worse than that time at the Mets game?"

Riley's eyes widened at the memory, "yes, I'm pretty sure I was grinding my teeth so hard that there were tooth fragments splitting off."

"Dramatic much?" Sonny looked at her but Morgan growled at him.

"No, not even a little bit. Your sisters were so mean."

"I believe they told her that black was an inappropriate colour for the bridesmaids to wear because black is a funeral colour." Riley vented. " _And_ they were all snotty and saying lace was for good girls. Morgan _is_ a good girl."

Sonny looked between the two girls, watching as they didn't say a word but seemed to converse with just their facial expressions. He wasn't sure if Morgan was being dramatic or not seeing as he wasn't there to witness how his sisters were actually acting around her. To him they were his sisters and most likely looking out for him, but he had chosen Morgan to marry, and it was their day, not his sisters.

Maybe he should talk to them, even if Morgan _was_ potentially exaggerating, he could at least tell them to respect her wishes. That wouldn't be that hard to do, right?

"Anyways, I hope you guys weren't waiting that long." Riley turned her attention towards Peter, who brought his one arm up and sat it across her shoulders.

"I'd wait forever for you." He said cheekily and she elbowed him in the gut.

"Don't do that." Riley shook her head. "It's weird."

"It's sweet." Morgan pointed out.

"Maybe but it makes it harder to be all sexy and dirty with him later." Riley shot back and Morgan scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Hey, speaking of slutty behaviour, do you guys think I'm going to hell?"

Sonny stared at her, wondering where this had come from. When Riley met Peter's gaze, he tipped his head sideways in confusion. She wasn't catholic, so what did it even matter to her if she was going to hell? Did she really think that badly of herself?

"Ry here thinks she'll burst into flame once she sets foot in the church." Morgan threw in.

"Why would you think that?" Peter asked.

"Like I said to Mo earlier, God doesn't look down too kindly on sluts." Riley explained.

"I don't care for that word." Peter objected and Riley pressed her lips together. Yeah well just because he didn't _care_ for that word, didn't make it any less true.

"I think there are a lot of good people out there who are going to heaven with a lot more sins than you." Sonny remarked. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. Yeah you made some questionable decisions when it came to men in the past but I feel, wholeheartedly, that you're a good person. God can forgive you for the promiscuity."

"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Riley teased. "Thanks. So, I just say a few hail Mary's and I'm good?"

Morgan snorted at Riley's question and rolled her eyes. God Riley could be so funny sometimes without even trying, she definitely lightened the mood when it needed to be lightened and she knew when Morgan needed her to stand up for her. She _was_ a good friend, a great friend even- so what if she was a little slutty in the days before she had met Peter Stone. Even perfect Catholics made mistakes.

"You can get on your knees tonight if you think that'll help." Peter purred and Riley's lips curled into a smirk. "I don't know if God will forgive you though."

"Who needs God when I have you?"

"Okay gross." Morgan groaned. "Seriously sometimes you two make me question humanity."

"These two make you question humanity? Mo have you looked at some of the cases you've worked on lately for SVU?" Sonny added and Morgan bit her bottom lip, knowing he had a very, _very_ good point.

Maybe Riley and Peter made her stomach a little queasy once in a while but they were good together and as Sonny pointed out, they weren't all _that_ bad, not like the heinous criminals she dealt with on a daily basis anyways.

"Sometimes I forget that sex talk makes you uncomfortable." Riley cooed at Morgan. "My poor vanilla friend."

"Seriously?" Morgan gaped at her. "I'm not…I'm not vanilla when it comes to sex, am I?"

She looked at Sonny who raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. There was no way he was going to answer that question, especially not with an audience. Morgan tore her eyes away from him and locked them on Riley, wondering if maybe Sonny thought the same thing.

Maybe they didn't have a super adventurous sex life but they enjoyed one another, that had to count for something. Just because she wasn't a daring slut when it came to pleasure didn't mean she was boring, did it?

"I will make sure to get you a wonderful wedding present, just as long as you promise not to open it in front of the parents." Riley leaned her elbow on the table, one hundred percent serious with her offer.

"Don't put my name on that." Peter shook his head. "I hope you're okay with separate gifts from us, I was thinking a nice gift of money would suffice."

"Perfect so she can buy her own sex toys." Riley gave Peter's chest a pat. "You're so smart."

"For whatever they want." Peter corrected her but Riley merely let out a huff.

"I'm going to have to think of some really awkward gifts for you when _you_ get married there Thumper." Morgan leveled Riley with a glare, a mischievous sparkle in her eye. "By the way, is that going to happen any time soon?"

Riley offered her up a shrug and didn't even bother looking at Peter, who might've known more about it than she did. He would be doing the asking, Riley wasn't that desperate, not yet anyways, plus they were moving in together, that was a big enough step for her at the current moment. A silence fell over the table but no one seemed intent on breaking it, not until a familiar looking face came to stand at the end of the table, eyeing up Sonny with a smile.

"Hey look it's my prosecutor." The guy reached his hand out smugly and Sonny took it reluctantly, but once the man had a hold of it, he shook his hand with gusto. "Fancy running in to you here."

"Wait." Morgan spoke up and studied the man's face. "Derek?"

"Yeah hey…oh I know you." The man looked around the table, first looking at Morgan, then his eyes fell on Riley. She tensed under Peter's arm and forced a smile onto her face, offering Derek her hand.

He took it and held on to it for far too long, his eyes boring into Riley like she was a piece of meat. This was Derek Delmonico, the very same Derek that had tried to get handsy with her at prom, which happened to be the one-time Riley had witnessed Morgan go beast mode on anyone. He had rightfully deserved it, but why was he here and more importantly, why was he calling Sonny his prosecutor?

What had he done?

"Been a long time girly." Derek husked, his eyes not even budging from Riley's form.

She pulled her hand back and set it flat on the table, "high school."

"Looking good Prescott." Derek jeered. "You too Lou."

God she hated him, with every fibre of her being did she hate him. She hated his stupid face, his smarmy voice and especially the way he called everyone by their last names in high school (and apparently now too). This was the guy that had almost violated her and if Morgan hadn't been there, Riley wasn't sure she would've gotten out of that limo unchanged.

She knew that victims of sexual assault suffered all sorts of trauma, Peter had been around enough to grant her that knowledge, plus she had Morgan with her too. Derek Delmonico was the scummiest of scum, and boy how Riley wished she could kick him in the balls at that very minute.

"Right, well, it was good to see you again _ladies_ , but I think I should be on my way." Derek gave a little bow and threw a wave at them before wandering off, Riley letting out a low growl as he did so.

"What?" Sonny stared at her and she kept her eyes trained on the man until he was out of sight completely.

"That wasn't 'Poppycock' guy, was it?" Peter asked and Riley turned her attention towards him, slipping an arm around his back and cuddling up against him further.

"No." She murmured.

"That was Derek Delmonico." Morgan stated, as if that answered all the questions. "Why are you his prosecutor Sonny?"

"He's being charged with rape but he's claiming he's been falsely accused." Sonny answered and Riley immediately sprung forward, slamming her hand against the table.

"No." She cried out. "I can guarantee you it's not false."

"Hey, whoa, did he…did he _do_ something to you?" Peter asked, straightening up in the booth. He could sense Riley was getting close to panic attack level but there had to be more to it than just seeing the guy. He had to have done something worse than even he could imagine. "Riley what did he do to you?"

"Nothing." She shot back.

"He tried though." Morgan filled in. "It was in the limo after prom, he tried to kiss Riley but she said no. He wasn't even her date."

"My date left with some other girl." Riley breathed the words out. "I tried to push him off of me but he wasn't having that."

"I went _beast mode_ on him, grabbed his nads so hard he walked funny for like a week." Morgan added. "So yeah, I'd look into this false accusation a little more because Derek Delmonico is not an innocent alter boy like he's probably trying to seem."

"You're sure that's all he did was try?" Peter gave Riley's side a gentle squeeze and she nodded her head.

"I've never been raped." She whispered. "A few close calls but no."

"God he's such a sleezeball, even now." Morgan grumbled. "Fucker."

Riley let out a low laugh at Morgan's cuss and shook her head. It sounded sort of funny coming from Morgan, the same girl who had almost been forced into a chandelier dress mere hours earlier by a bunch of girls had just called a guy from high school a fucker. Yeah, Morgan could handle herself, it was just further proof.

"Watching him limping down the halls after prom was sort of funny." Riley said, her voice sounding a little more chipper. "Peter, you better watch yourself here, Morgan's got my back."

"Sure do. And Riley's got mine."

There had never been truer words.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley let out a sigh as she stepped inside Peter's place, slipping her shoes off her feet and wandering in further, Peter not far behind her. She headed right for the bedroom and flopped down on top of the covers, knowing that he wasn't just going to let the whole thing at the bar go undiscussed.

She knew he had questions and she couldn't blame him, there was still a lot about her past that she didn't talk about because she just wanted to pretend it didn't happen. Things were good with Peter and she didn't want to ruin that because she told him something he didn't necessarily want to hear.

This was different though; this was someone who apparently rendered the power to shake her to the core with his mere presence. Derek Delmonico was an asshole; Riley had known that years ago and she also knew that people like that didn't change.

"You can't expect me to just ignore what happened at the bar." Peter stated, loosening the tie from around his neck. He then moved on to unbuttoning the buttons on his cuffs while Riley merely laid motionless on her back on his bed. "Riley?"

"That's not me." She said softly, so softly he barely registered that she was speaking to him.

"What?"

She lifted her hands up and rested them against her stomach, linking her fingers together. A sigh escaped her and when the bed dipped next to her, she turned her head ever so slightly, catching the concerned look on his face.

"I can handle myself, Derek happened a long time ago, please don't look at me like a fragile little girl."

"Is that how you think I'm looking at you now?"

She furrowed her eyebrows and reluctantly sat up, her hands shifting down to rest against her lap instead. She turned her body to face him more directly and studied his face. While she was expecting him to be concerned about her, she wasn't too sure which part bothered him the most. Was it that some guy had almost taken advantage of her, which made her weak? Or was it because he was starting to realize how many guys she had truly been with before him?

He had brought up the 'Poppycock' guy before he was informed that this was 'High School Hands Derek', someone that Riley had never even mentioned. How many more weirdos were out there that she hadn't mentioned? What if she ran into them again, like she had with Derek Delmonico?

In her own words, she had said that she had a few close calls but was never actually raped, was _that_ the part that concerned him the most?

"I made bad choices in the past; I get that."

"I'm not judging you for that at all." Peter remarked, his own hands residing on his knees, fearful that if he touched her at that very moment, she'd freak right out. "I was pretty flirtatious before you too."

"What?"

"I went through a really rough time after my sister died, I'd go out, get drunk, bring girls back to my place, sometimes more than one at a time-"

" _What_?" Her eyes bugged out at his admission. "Two girls at once?"

"Not sure that's where you should be getting hung up but yes. Honestly I barely remember much about that night, but they were both in my bed when I woke up the next morning."

"Colour me impressed." She tipped her head, studying him. "I never wanted two guys at the same time because that just screams disaster for me, you know?"

"Yeah and now you won't ever get another guy because I don't share." Peter leveled a warning look at her and she couldn't help but smirk. Possessive Peter was one of her favourites, but they had more important things to discuss, mainly about his own slutty behaviour before he was lucky enough to encounter her.

"Derek Delmonico was before my whole one-night stand thing, he was just a stupid high school jock who was drunk and horny at prom and I was the closest girl to him." Riley explained. "I just hate that Morgan had to save me because I like to think of myself as a strong and powerful woman."

"Strong and powerful women can still have moments of weakness, especially when it comes to males."

"There was one guy who tried to get fresh with me at a bar once, threw me against a pool table and managed to get his hand up my skirt before I bit him in the arm." Riley confessed. "He called me a crazy bitch and left."

"Does Morgan know?"

Riley shook her head no, "I didn't figure it was worth mentioning because I handled it. I put myself out there for those guys-"

"That doesn't entitle them to take what you don't want to give."

"I know." She ground the words out. "I'm just…for the most part I was always fine, and I got really good at picking out the guys who weren't aggressive assholes, but sometimes I put myself in a situation where things could've gone so wrong so fast."

"And you swear nothing ever happened?" He looked at her, wanting to know that she had never experienced what he witnessed plenty of women experiencing. He wouldn't want her to have to deal with trauma like that. "Because you can tell me."

"No, nothing ever happened like _that_." She admitted and reluctantly leaned against him, letting out a soft sigh as his arms came around her, hugging her tight against his chest. "I guess I just figured that Morgan had scared him enough that he'd behave from then on, but now I find out he's being 'falsely' accused of rape- you can't just believe him knowing what I told you."

"I'm sure Sonny's already thinking about how to look into him further."

Riley gave a somber nod of her head and let her eyes fall shut, feeling the weight of the entire day finally falling away from her shoulders. She had gone dress shopping with the three Carisis from hell and then she had encountered her high school enemy, yeah, it had definitely been a long day.

She was ready to just climb into bed and fall asleep, but there was more that she wanted to ask Peter.

"Two girls at once you say?" She quipped and he fought off a groan. "How does that even work, like one thing, two holes-"

"Can we not go there right now?"

"Honestly, I'm kind of impressed." She cocked her head sideways and peeled herself away from him, moving to stand at the foot of his bed. When she planted her hands on her hips, he was quick to sit up straighter and rest his palms on the outside of her thighs. "We're just a pair of sluts aren't we?"

"Riley, I don't-"

"I don't like that word. I know. Sorry." She rolled her eyes. "Say, how many girls do you think you've been with in your lifetime?"

"How many guys for you?" He countered, hoping that would put an end to their current conversation.

"Huh, I've never really thought about it." She pressed her lips together and mentally tried to count, but when she lost track, she tried to figure it out by seeing how many guys a month she usually slept with and average it, but that didn't work out for her either, there were too many numbers, way too many faces, and a lot of not so great memories.

"Back when I was pitching, there were a few girls."

"Oh baseball Peter Stone sounds sexy- hey, I should google you! Are there going to be any pictures of you in the sexy baseball pants?" She turned her back to him and made a move to look for her phone but before she had a chance, he poked her in the back with his own, offering it up to her.

It was a battle he knew he wasn't going to win but when Riley took hold of his phone, she looked at him with an almost sad expression on her face.

"What?" He asked, watching as she made no move to use his phone to google him like she wanted to do.

"I just love you so much." She whispered. "Sorry I bullied you into this whole baby thing."

"Where's this coming from?"

"You're so good to me, like all the time, and I know I'm hard to deal with. I don't tell you everything and you find out things that I probably should've mentioned. Then I do stupid things like ask for your sperm which is totally weird, I know and- I just feel like other guys would get mad or upset but you just…you just love me no matter what."

"I never once felt like you were bullying me." He stated. "I know it's important to you, but it was too fast for me, that's all."

"Still." She tapped her finger against the side of his phone. "And now here you are trusting me with your phone, you are a brave, brave man."

He laughed at her statement and watched as she went right back to what she had stated she was going to do. When she had his name punched in to google, she found herself having to add 'MLB' to the search, which provided her with exactly what she wanted: pictures of Peter in a Cubs uniform, including the baseball pants she was so hung up on.

She let out a squeal at the sight of all the pictures and pulled up the best one she could find before turning the screen towards him and showing him a photo of himself in the middle of his wind-up.

"This deserves a place on our mantle when we buy our house." She teased.

"You're still good to go this weekend to look at places right?"

"Sure am. And if we find a place we love without a mantle, this picture is going in our bedroom. God I love a man in a baseball uniform."

"Even if it's not your beloved Yankees?"

"You're sexier than any Yankee that's ever played." She replied, her tone stone cold serious.

God he was so lucky to have her.


	15. Chapter 15

There was one problem with house hunting, at least in Riley's eyes: she had no idea what their budget was. In hindsight, it seemed like a major thing to have at least discussed prior to heading out to look at houses but Peter hadn't brought it up and she hadn't thought of it until they wandered onto the street where the first place they were going to see was located.

It was a townhouse in downtown Manhattan and as much as Riley loved the idea of living in this particular neighbourhood, she knew it was going to be super expensive. Money hadn't come up in their relationship before either but Riley made a decent amount and by the look of the townhouse, she figured Peter made a lot more.

"This seems way too expensive." Riley remarked, her voice hushed and low so that Brett Reeves, the real estate agent, wouldn't hear them. "Seriously, are you hiding millions of dollars from me?"

"No." Peter replied with a chuckle. "I just have a nice amount saved."

"Hmm." She hummed back. "From your MLB days?"

"Sort of, mostly from when my parents died."

Riley reached over and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze, wondering how much it still hurt him when he talked about his parents. She knew he hadn't been all that close with his dad at the end but she also knew it was still painful to lose a parent. Plus he had lost his sister too, as if Peter didn't have enough tragedy in his life.

"This place still seems a little much for me." She pointed out.

"If it makes you feel better, it's the most expensive one scheduled for today."

Sucking in a breath, she walked alongside Peter as Brett opened the front door and ushered them inside. There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling that reminded Riley of the dress that Morgan had almost tried on. The front hallway was tiled with shiny, sparkly marble and the walls were painted in a metallic colour. Even the entryway seemed too fancy for her.

"Museum." Riley hissed and Peter scoffed at her word. "Seriously, this doesn't feel like a _home_ Peter."

A home. That sounded much nicer than a house to him and didn't he want a home with Riley? Yes he did. He wanted it all with her, marriage, kids, a home, and he hated to admit it out loud but she had a point. It didn't feel like a home to him either.

It was too hard around the edges, too fancy, too much like a…a museum.

"We haven't seen anything more than the front hall."

"Okay, fine."

The rest of the house didn't fare much better for the two of them, the kitchen was too sterile, the bedroom was awkward and uninviting, plus there wasn't an en suite bathroom, which Riley could've lived without except not in this particular house. She wouldn't have been surprised if they rounded the corner and found an art exhibit in the living room, which was cold and unwelcoming like the rest of the house.

"Please tell me you don't actually like this place." Riley whined and Peter took a quick look around at the room they were standing in, the office just off the living room, and shook his head no.

"I like the location more than anything but not enough to want to live here."

"Thank god." She let out a sigh of relief and he tossed her a smile. Fair enough, this wasn't the house for them, hell it didn't seem like a house for any family really, there was no homey feeling to it.

The second house was much better though and Riley found herself almost enjoying the walkthrough. The kitchen was lovely, the living room was cozy, the bedroom was amazing and even had the en suite she wanted so badly. There was a second bedroom upstairs across from the master and a third smaller room that could be a third bedroom or an office of sorts, a second bathroom tucked between them.

The best part was that it was significantly cheaper than the first house, though still a lot more expensive than she was figuring on them spending.

"So what do think?" Brett quipped as they closed out their tour in the front hallway. The man had a shit-eating grin on his face and Riley couldn't deny that it was a nice house, but was it _their_ house?

It felt okay but not totally right, and when she looked to Peter for him to answer, he dropped his gaze to the floor.

"I was hoping for another room." Peter admitted.

"For what exactly?" Brett asked and looked between the two. "More room for kids?"

"A library."

"Peter." Riley grumbled at him. "I don't need a room for my books."

"Why not? You could call it your office and I can have my own, where else would we put all your books?"

"In a closet." She scoffed. "Or I could get rid of them, they're just books."

"No way, not to you they're not just books."

"Okay, so another room, we've got two more houses to see today." Brett carried on.

House number three was better than the first (like that was hard) but not as nice as the second one. It had more rooms but they weren't as spiffy, hell a couple of them weren't even finished. This house, much like the museum, was a quick no and Riley felt herself feeling discouraged.

This wasn't what she was expecting, but she figured that something would go wrong. Nothing was ever as easy as she thought it would be, house hunting was no exception.

"This last place has been on the market for longer than the sellers were expecting, but it's definitely worth a look." Brett explained.

"What's wrong with it? Is it a murder house?" Riley asked him, totally serious with her question.

"There's nothing wrong with it."

"There has to be something wrong with it if no one else has bought it." Riley pointed out.

"The price is a little steep but we can offer a lower amount. If they really want to sell, they'll counter."

"I know how it works." Riley stared at him. "I just feel like there's something you're not telling us."

"It might be a little outdated but nothing some paint and a good cleaning can't fix."

"Do I look like a girl who wants to do that shit?" Riley was glaring now but Peter spoke up, hoping to calm her down before she got too upset.

"We can hire people." Peter butted in. "I can paint, it's not like we have to move in right away either, we have time."

Riley sucked in a breath and threw her hands up in defeat. Okay, so he had a point, but part of her was just excited to get out of the apartment and into a house with Peter. She wanted to start building a home with him, and if that involved a bit of elbow grease, then she could do that right?

"Fine but this place better be fucking magical Brett." Riley growled.

The real estate agent plastered a smile on his face and as soon as they walked up the front path next to the driveway, Riley couldn't help but smile too.

They were outside of downtown, far enough that they had a beautiful front yard with a garage attached to the house, and a small wooden deck built out from the front door. This already seemed the most like a home to Riley.

Brett opened the front door and let Riley lead the way, her eyes widening at the sight of the interior of the house. Yes, it needed a new coat of paint but she could see that this was where she wanted to be, this was a good place to settle down with Peter.

"Kitchen, living room, dining room all on the main level, with a bonus room you can use for an office just off the living room. In the basement we have a laundry and utilities room with a bedroom slash living area and a bathroom." Brett recited and Riley was hanging on to his every word.

"A basement, so we can have our sex dungeon." Peter joked but Riley was staring at Brett, waiting for him to tell her more, completely ignoring his comment.

"Right, yeah, that could go in the basement, but uh up the stairs we have the master with an en suite, plus another bathroom and two more bedrooms."

Peter waved her forward and she wandered through the kitchen, dining and living rooms, getting more and more impressed with each step. When they reached the so-called office, Peter gave a hum of approval, which was fine by her. She wasn't entirely sure she needed an office at the house, but he might. It would give him a place to work if he didn't feel like heading in to work.

Peter took her hand and they wandered up the stairs together, Riley peering into the first room on the right, which was the second bedroom, the bathroom was the next room on the right and when they reached the last room on the right side of the upstairs hallway, she let out a low gasp.

Two of the walls were lined with built in bookshelves and the other two walls had single shelves near the ceiling. It was a perfect room for a library, and she could easily throw a desk in there to boot.

"You still think you don't need a library?" Peter murmured, his lips right by her ear. She stepped into the middle of the room and turned around, taking in the room in its entirety. It was perfect, she was ready to put in an offer and she hadn't even seen the master bedroom.

At this point in time she felt it was just a formality. All the rooms would need a new paint job but other than that, she found very few faults with this particular house.

"Last but not least." Brett maneuvered them across the hallway and into the master bedroom.

"Jesus." She whimpered. "I want it. I want it so bad."

The bedroom itself was huge and the one wall held a giant picture window that looked down onto the backyard, which held a decent sized maple tree and a small wooden deck off the kitchen. The room itself was nice, and Riley could already see the set up that she wanted.

The bathroom attached was nice too, holding a deep tub and a separate glass encased shower. It was perfect, it was _the_ perfect house. When she turned to face the real estate agent, Peter shot her a smile.

"Make an offer." She demanded with a grin. "Please? Don't you love it?"

"I do. And you're okay with having to paint a few rooms?" Peter asked back and she nodded her head furiously.

"This is our home." She stated, closing the distance between them. "It even feels right."

"I think so too."

She set her sights on Brett and closed in on him with a predatory look but before she could get there, Peter stepped up and the two of them left the room, the beginnings of an offer coming to a head while she remained in the bedroom and took it all in.

It was much nicer than either of their apartments and it could be a real home for them, and whatever kids they would have in the future. She would have a place for her books, he would have an office, and together they'd make it everything it was supposed to be.

This was indeed the perfect house, to go along with Riley's perfect man.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

The fact that he even had to talk to his sisters about being nice to his fiancé bothered him. Morgan was a nice girl, a nice girl that he loved, and to hear about how they had treated her at the dress shop had bothered him immensely. It was her wedding, not theirs and she had every right to want to pick a dress that she wanted.

Apparently, his sisters hadn't appreciated that fact and had made every attempt to hijack the appointment. Thank god Morgan had Riley and Rollins there, those two wouldn't take anyone's shit, let alone Gina, Theresa or Bella's.

He honestly didn't even care what Morgan wore, as long as she was at the alter standing in front of him when she was supposed to be, that's what he wanted. He knew she'd look beautiful no matter what, but part of him was glad she hadn't gotten the gaudy chandelier dress that Morgan continued to bring up, she had even shown him a picture of it. Nope, not Morgan's style.

She was classier than the dress and needed a gown to match her style.

"Hey ma." Sonny greeted as he walked into his mother's house where the three sisters of his were gathered. He loved his ma and he knew that his ma liked Morgan too, she was the type of person that just wanted her kids to be happy. Morgan definitely made Sonny happy, anyone could see that. "Where's-"

"Your sisters are in the other room."

He nodded his understanding and headed to where he could hear female voices coming from, when he wandered in, the three of them fell silent and looked at him, each of them sitting down on one of the pieces of furniture.

Glancing at each sister, he wondered how to start this conversation. It wasn't going to be easy to tell his sisters to back off of his fiancé, but he also knew that it had to be done. Morgan didn't deserve their wrath; she'd never done anything to them before.

"Ladies." Sonny nodded his head and Gina was the first one to respond, opening her mouth and immediately making digs at Morgan.

"Your fiancé isn't catholic Sonny."

"She is not."

"That's not really acceptable. You should have a nice catholic girl picked out to marry, not some girl who doesn't even have good taste in dresses."

"First of all, I saw the dress you wanted her to try on and it was not her, it wasn't anyone's dress really. Second of all, you think I should marry a nice catholic girl, you mean like you three?" Sonny shot back. "One of you was pregnant before you were married, one of you is divorced and Gina, I do believe you slept with half the football team back in high school."

"Whoa, hey!" Bella piped up. "I wasn't being mean, not like those two."

"Yeah but you didn't stop it either, did you?"

Bella slumped back against the couch and remained silent, effectively told off. She wasn't about to argue anymore with her brother, not when she knew he had another battle coming from Gina and Theresa, now those were two women who weren't easily intimidated, especially not by their _younger_ brother.

"She's not right for you." Gina argued, hardly affected by his speech at all. "And who picks black as a wedding colour? Honestly?"

"We're not going to a funeral Sonny." Theresa added, crossing her arms over her chest. "Unless you don't think this is the right girl for you either. Do you? You can tell us; we'll get rid of her-"

"Stop, just stop." He threw his hands up in an attempt to silence them, which lasted for all of five seconds.

"I'm not going to be in a wedding where I have to look like I'm at a funeral." Gina pressed.

He sucked in a breath and prepared himself for the aftershock of what he was about to say, "then don't."

"Don't what?" Gina looked at him like he was crazy but Sonny felt the sanest he had felt in a long damn time.

"If you don't want to wear black, then don't be in the wedding."

"What? You can't be serious!?" Theresa raised her voice as she stood up, looking like she was readying herself for a physical fight as much as a verbal one. "You can't just say that to us."

"Why not? Seems pretty simple to me. You either back off or don't come, those are your options." Sonny declared.

The three girls fell silent, this time for longer than five minutes, and he couldn't help but wonder what hell was about to be unleashed upon him. These were his sisters, he had rarely spoken to them like that, but that's how he felt right now. Morgan was the one girl that really mattered to him and he loved her, if his sisters were so against the woman he was going to marry, then they weren't going to be welcome at the wedding.

He was done trying to play nice with them. Morgan was a great girl; she didn't even stand up for herself at the boutique because she hadn't really wanted to hurt anyone's feelings. Riley had snipped at them, so honestly what did Morgan ever do to warrant their dislike?

"I'll play nice." Bella spoke first, her voice barely louder than a whisper and Sonny looked at her, waiting for her to throw out a 'but'. No 'but' ever came and he carefully threw her a cautious smile, knowing that of all three sisters, she was definitely the one most likely to actually stay true to her word. "I think you could do a lot worse than Morgan."

He appreciated the little joke she added at the end but Gina scoffed, "he could do a lot better than Morgan too."

"Yeah well that's my decision. I guess you're not coming to the wedding then." Sonny barked at her but Gina whimpered, seeing how deadly serious Sonny was being at that very moment. "I'm going to marry her whether you like it or not, so either get on board with that or don't come. Just because you don't like her, I'm not going to change my mind."

Gina glared at him, waiting for him to back down but Sonny held firm, glaring right back at her. He held his breath and when Gina's body folded into the couch, he knew he had won, and for real this time.

"I still don't like the idea of black dresses." Gina muttered.

"Your funeral." Theresa shook her head.

But it wasn't his funeral, not at all. He was excited to see where his life with Morgan went and it didn't matter to him what colour the bridesmaids wore, so long as they were there to support Morgan.

Hell, even if she only had Riley standing next to her, it wouldn't matter to Sonny, he just wanted Morgan Loughton to become Morgan Carisi.

The day couldn't come soon enough.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley wasn't entirely sure how well this day was going to go seeing as Sonny's three sisters _had_ shown up, two of whom had scowls plastered on their faces before they were even inside the shop. It didn't really matter to her, she was always ready for a fight, especially when it came to defending Morgan's honour and since Amanda couldn't make it today, it would be all up to her.

She could handle it, these women were all bark and no bite, and well, even if they did have a decent bite, Riley was scrappy.

"I'm surprised you showed up." Riley remarked, looking between the three sisters. Bella held up a hand, using her fingers to form the peace sign. Okay, well she could work with that, so long as the appointment remained civil from there on out.

"Remember, black dresses, but I have no idea what style." Morgan announced and the five of them headed into the shop further, racks and racks of differing dresses lined the floor.

This place was huge, which made Morgan all the happier. If they didn't find something here, then they were doomed. There were plenty of choices, and even if they didn't find the right colour, she was aware that this place made dresses to order in whatever colours they had available. Black was a fairly simple colour, thank god for that.

"Still stuck on black." Gina muttered and Theresa, seemingly the only one that heard her, rolled her eyes in agreement.

"Funeral, I tell you. This marriage is doomed."

"Like your face?" Riley hissed, trying to keep Morgan away from the drama for as long as possible. She didn't want another bridal shop battle, she just wanted to get Morgan out of there as unscathed as possible. Riley could fight Carisi's sisters, it didn't matter if they liked her, but Morgan- well Morgan would do better if she maintained a civil relationship with them.

Riley gave Morgan a reassuring pat on the back and headed off towards the back of the store, starting to flip through the dresses there. She was somewhat surprised when Bella joined her, standing next to her and looking at the dresses as Riley skimmed through them.

They were silent but it wasn't terribly awkward, in fact, of the three sisters, Bella seemed like the least likely to blow up.

So far, she hadn't made any snarky comments, but Gina and Theresa were just steps away from an ass-kicking.

"I like Morgan, I don't know what Gina and Theresa have against her." Bella confessed and Riley paused in her movements, glancing at the girl next to her.

"Yeah, I don't know either but it's really pissing me off."

"I'm sorry for what happened before, you know, at the bridal boutique." Bella offered and Riley studied the girl beside her before plastering a grin on her face.

"Okay, I don't mind you. Forgiven, just don't do that shit again."

Bella smiled back at her and nodded towards the racks, letting Riley take the reigns on looking through the dresses.

Morgan was across the room doing the same thing only taking a little more time studying the look of each dress that even remotely caught her eye. She honestly had no idea on the style, but black was going to remain her choice until the end of time. It was gorgeous as a dress colour and slimming to boot, why wouldn't her bridesmaids want to wear it?

Aside from the fact that they claimed it was reminiscent of a funeral of course. That was a stupid reason though, the venue and ceremony wouldn't be anything close to a funeral. Didn't they trust her on that?

It didn't matter, it wasn't their wedding anyways, it was hers and she was going to get what she wanted, so long as it was also what Sonny wanted.

"Still cannot believe we're on the black idea." Gina pouted from a rack over. Morgan pretended not to hear her but she knew that Riley did.

"From what I hear Gina, black might be your colour since that's what colour your fucking heart is." Riley called out, clearly not wanting anyone to miss what she was saying. "Do you get off on being a bitch or is just something that comes natural to you?"

"Who do you think you are?" Gina cried out, stopping her movements of the dresses completely. She turned to face Riley and spotted Bella standing next to the woman who was about to be declared the Carisi sisters' mortal enemy. "Bella, get over here."

"Gina just stop." Bella pleaded. "This fighting is ridiculous and Sonny said that if you didn't want to wear black…well you know what he said."

"What did he say?" Morgan asked, speaking up for the first time since they had started looking through dresses. She knew that he had talked to them, but he hadn't told her what he had said, just that they were going to be at the dress shop when they were supposed to.

She figured he had managed to pull off a miracle but having them here and with them still being bitchy towards her, she wasn't figuring on that miracle being very good.

"He said that if we didn't want to wear the colour you picked then we shouldn't come." Theresa fired back and Riley let out a bark of laughter. Seemed like the easiest solution to her but she was fully aware that Morgan actually wanted the sisters at the wedding, for whatever reason.

"He's our brother, we can't _not_ be there." Bella whimpered.

"I'll wear the stupid black but I'm not going to like it." Gina stated firmly.

"No one said you had to like it." Morgan shook her head, wondering why she was so willing to put up with their childish behaviour.

Theresa scowled at Morgan but didn't bother saying anything further, instead she turned her attention to the dresses in front of her and began angrily sliding the hangers from one side of the rack to the other. Morgan sucked in a breath, held it for a few seconds and blew it out, silently praying to whatever god was listening to give her strength for this particular task.

"I think this colour is much less…death-like." Gina announced and held up a floor-length toga style gown in a mauvy pink pearl colour. "This dress is cute, colour, style, material, everything."

"And when the wedding's over, we can go to a toga party." Riley threw out, waving Gina's dress idea off with her hand. "This is more like it."

Riley pulled out a dress that would fall to about their knees, the top part was fitted and the skirt flared out pretty sharply. The dress itself came up into a neck piece. Morgan cocked her head at it and wondered if Riley realized that just because a dress would definitely suit her, they needed it to suit all four girls, and there was no way that Gina or Theresa would go for that particular dress.

"I'm not about to wear that, it's way too slutty." Theresa complained.

"That's probably why she likes it so much." Gina snipped and Riley put the dress back on the rack without argument. She was a bigger person than them, she could handle their snide remarks for a little longer before she snapped; at least she hoped she could.

"What about this?" Oh sweet Bella seemed so excited by her choice and when she lifted it up, her sister's immediately groaned.

The dress itself was blue but the style was what really mattered; it was a puffy skirted dress that was more tulle than material and the bodice had an awkward bow placed in the centre of the chest. Before anyone knew what was happening everyone _but_ Bella was laughing at the god-ugly dress, Morgan being the loudest.

"Oh sweetie no." Gina cooed. "That is an unfortunate place for a bow."

Defeated, she hung the dress back on the rack and the five girls went back to looking for the right dress for them all.

It was a good twenty minutes later that Morgan spied the dress she felt would be great for all four of them. It was a navy dress but easily available in black and when she showed it to the girls, Riley and Bella smiled while Gina and Theresa merely stared in response.

Well that was better than a snide comment, but Morgan figured that would come once they were in the dress. Riley was the first one to try it on, holding the back shut as she walked out to model it, the top hugging her chest and the draped sleeve residing against her bicep. The rest of the dress hugged much of her figure too, the bottom flaring out at the knee.

The fabric itself was soft and not at all shiny, which was perfect.

"Oh I like that." Morgan nodded her approval and Riley ran her hand down the front of it, feeling the fabric under her fingers. "I really like that."

"You would." Gina retorted.

"I'm about two seconds away from beating you stupid with my shoe." Riley fired at her but found herself being pushed back into the dressing room by none other than Morgan. Morgan pulled the door shut and glared at Gina.

"It is a perfectly nice dress and you better learn to like it because that's what you guys will be wearing." Morgan ground the words out. "Unless of course, you don't want to come to your own brother's wedding."

"I'll try it on." Bella announced and lunged for the change room, taking the dress from Riley once she tossed it up and over the wooden door. Bella slipped into the next change room and when Riley emerged, she strutted over to Gina and stood directly in front of her.

"I will choke you out." Riley growled. "With the very dress you don't want to wear."

Gina took a step back but Riley was quick to move forward, not letting her put any space between them. Okay, Gina didn't like that, but Riley merely smiled at her, baring teeth and curling her lip.

"It's kind of skanky." Gina remarked, her voice lower and squeakier than it had been moments earlier. "That's all."

"It's fine." Morgan called out, watching as Bella emerged from the change room looking gorgeous in the very same dress that Riley had on before. It suited her and Morgan knew that even if it looked terrible on Gina and Theresa, she was still going to have it as her bridesmaid dress because at this point, all she cared about was Riley and Bella. "Perfect."

"I like it." Bella offered up with a genuine smile.

"Totally sexy." Riley nodded her approval once she tore her eyes away from Gina and took in the sight of Bella. "Good choice Mo."

Bella shook her hips and let out a laugh as she backed into the change room. Morgan whipped around and faced the remaining two sisters who needed to try the dress on, Gina rolling her eyes and stepping forward with a sigh.

She was defeated, there was nothing she could do to get out of wearing black except not attend the wedding and as much as she didn't want to wear black, she loved her brother more. There was no way she was going to miss the chance to watch her brother get married.

Morgan looked over to Theresa who threw her hands up with a groan and nodded her head. Good, these girls knew their place now. Riley tossed Morgan a victorious grin and Morgan couldn't help but wonder how much trouble they'd be in the future.

They didn't seem like the type of person to just give up without coming back ten times harder. Morgan would be ready though; she was done playing nice. She just prayed that it didn't affect her and Sonny.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Sonny hated the fact that he was back at his mother's house looking for his sisters yet again. Could they honestly not behave themselves for one stupid day?

All they had to do was go look at dresses and agree with whatever Morgan picked out, why was that so hard for them to understand?

"Gina!" Sonny yelled out, not even bothering to stop and say hi to his ma, who rolled her eyes at what was about to unfold. "Theresa!"

He hated yelling and screaming and fighting but they weren't getting it. Morgan was in his life for a long time to come, they best get with the program or they'd be looking forward to a rocky relationship with him for years to come. This was unacceptable.

Morgan had told him what had happened at the dress store, she hadn't intended to make him so mad but he had, even offering to tell them they weren't invited but Morgan had been quick to say that she wanted them there if he did.

As mad as he was, he _did_ want them there, but only if they were going to behave. He didn't want to have to play referee at his own damn wedding.

"What part of 'play nice' was too hard for you two to understand?" Sonny called out and came to a roaring halt once he stomped into the living room, his two sisters sitting side by side on the couch with glares present on their faces. "Bella understood, so why didn't you two?"

"She's changing you!" Gina shouted back at him and he took a step backwards, not seeing that coming. "Okay, Sonny before Morgan, you wouldn't have told made us choose to be a part of the wedding or not go."

"No." Sonny argued. "She's not changing me."

"Well you haven't spoken to us like that with any of the other girls you've dated." Theresa remarked smugly. "So explain that."

"I have never cared about any of the other girls like I care about Morgan." Sonny stated. "There haven't been other girls worth speaking to you like that over."

Gina looked at him with a confused expression on her face, Theresa merely refusing to look at him at all.

"She picked out a skanky dress." Gina threw out, trying to get him on their side. He shook his head and threw his hands up, turning his back to them in order to gain a few seconds to pull himself together.

This was ridiculous, they were his sisters, they were supposed to support him, not fight him on everything, especially when it came to the girl he was going to marry. When he turned back around to face them, he blew out a breath, following it up with a growl.

"Well you can wear whatever dress you want when you show up to our wedding as nothing more than a guest." Sonny said calmly.

"What? No, no we want to be part of it, we want to be in your wedding. We're your sisters, you can't kick us out."

"I love her." Sonny barked. "I love her and that's not going to change, so I'll do it if I have to."

"But she's-"

"It doesn't matter, she's my fiancé, she's going to be my wife. There isn't a damn thing you can say to me that will change that fact." Sonny felt his heart starting to pick up in pace, wondering what it was about Morgan that his sisters honestly didn't like. "She hasn't even done anything to you to warrant your attitude towards her."

"Not true." Gina shook her head.

"Yeah, what's she done to you?"

"She's taking you away." Theresa snapped. "She's going to take you away from us."

Sonny shook his head no but found that he wasn't entirely sure what to say in response. Morgan wasn't technically going to take him away from anyone, but he could sort of see where his sisters were coming from. She was going to take up more of his attention and they didn't want to lose him.

No, no he wasn't going to give in to them, this was stupid. He wasn't going to not marry Morgan simply because his sisters were being selfish and childish. If they didn't see that Morgan made him happier than he'd ever been before then that was on them.

"She's not taking me away from you. I'll always be your brother, but if you don't start treating Morgan better, I won't be there when you need me." Sonny said, his voice dead calm.

"What?"

"You're making me choose between her and you." Sonny quipped. "I choose her, and I will continue to choose her every time. She is going to be my wife, I love her more than anything, if you can't accept that, then I can't help you."

He turned on his heels and walked away from them, heading right out the door and to his car. Once he was securely inside, he let out a huff of frustration.

The two of them came bounding out of the house, running to the car and knocking roughly on the window. Sonny hesitated but popped the door open, setting his one foot on the ground.

"Fine." Gina huffed. "We'll be nice."

"We just don't want her to hurt you." Theresa added.

"Well that's on me if she does." Sonny pointed out.

"Are you still not going to be our brother?" Gina had the decency to sound a little bit frightened.

"We'll revisit after you spend more time with Morgan. I want to see you being nice, not just have you promise and turn your back on it as soon as I'm not around."

"Okay, okay." Gina raised her one hand and ran it through her hair. "Fine."

He smiled at them and slipped his foot back into the car, closing the door and looking at their retreating forms as the two of them headed back into the house. He just hoped that they could be nice to Morgan because no matter what they believed, she was going to be around for as long as she'd have him.


	16. Chapter 16

It was moving day at the apartment and things felt off. Riley wasn't moping like Morgan was expecting her too, which only made Morgan mope more than she wanted to because it was clear that Riley wasn't going to miss her that much at all.

Sonny was busy trying to get Morgan's bed into as many smaller pieces as he could while Stone was in Riley's room boxing up her books for their own big move, which was officially happening now that the people selling had accepted their offer, though that move wasn't happening that day, it was still a good chance to start packing.

Riley was flitting between her room, where she was helping Peter, and the kitchen, where her and Morgan were going through their things there, deciding who would get what. So far Riley was left with most of the pots and pans, and almost all of the silverware because Sonny already had that stuff and his was perfectly fine to Morgan, plus she was getting married, she'd most likely acquire more of that sort of thing as wedding gifts.

Overall, Morgan wasn't all that concerned about their stuff, and Riley wasn't putting up much of a fight when it came to material items either.

Morgan had the cupboard in the corner open, piling baking pans, cookie sheets and muffin tins on the cupboard next to the stove. In all honestly, she was probably going to be leaving most of that to Riley too because she was the baker in the apartment. And again, anything her and Sonny needed, they'd go out and buy if he didn't already have, or they'd get from the wedding gifts.

"I can't believe you and Peter bought a god damn house." Morgan remarked in astonishment. "I just never thought this day would come you know, where you and I don't live together."

"I know right. Who's going to wait up for me at night now?" Riley teased.

"Peter? Wait, no one. You don't need anyone to wait up for you because you're not going out and fucking random guys anymore." Morgan pointed out and Riley just laughed at her logic. She had realized that herself but she had asked more for nostalgia purposes than anything. "You can call me any time you want, no matter how late, I'll always answer your phone calls."

"Same." Riley chuckled. "I will answer your phone calls too, no matter what."

"No, that's okay. I'd hate to interrupt you two when you're having sex, knowing you, you wouldn't just stop."

"Depends how close I was." Riley teased.

"Gross." Morgan grumbled and fished out the last baking pan from the cupboard, setting it on the cupboard before straightening up and looking at their material items spread out across the kitchen. "I can't believe we're really moving out of this place, there's so many great memories here, you know?"

Riley glanced over her shoulder and watched as Morgan set her hands on the edge of the counter, gripping it tightly enough that her knuckles turned white. She continued to watch Morgan and when Morgan pushed herself away from the counter, Riley cleared her throat, drawing her friend's attention to her.

"I get that Mo but it's not like we could've stayed here forever. You knew we weren't going to grow up to be the two old ladies who never married, didn't you?" Riley offered up with a shrug. She was doing surprisingly well considering she was the one with anxiety problems. Morgan thought there would've been massive amounts of tears from Riley by now, but she was holding it together better than Morgan. "You have to move in with your fiancé, then get married and have so many babies-"

"Two." Morgan lifted her hand up, two fingers in the air to accentuate what she was saying.

"Two, okay." Riley nodded.

"And you, god you're moving into a house with a guy you've been dating for over a year!" Morgan was borderline squealing. "You and Peter are so perfect for each other, I'm so glad I dared you to do all that stuff back when you first met him, and to think you were going to have him for one night and let him go. _So_ glad I dared you."

"Yeah, me too. It got us both here to where we are today."

"It'd be better if you were engaged." Morgan said with a smirk. "Oooh or pregnant. You and Peter would have such cute kids."

Riley tried not to visibly flinch at Morgan's words and when Morgan turned her attention back to clearing out the cupboards, she knew she had managed to hide it well enough that Morgan wasn't going to call her out on it. It was her fault for not telling her that she couldn't really have kids, but she didn't want to put that on Morgan, not yet, not until she absolutely had to.

It was her secret to keep.

A comfortable silence fell over them as the two girls continued to clear out cupboards and fill boxes that Morgan was taking, leaving the rest on the counter for Riley to pack up when it was closer to her own moving day, she was still going to be needing a lot of it, especially when her new house needed a little work before she could move in.

"You have to come over and help me paint when I start to do that." Riley suggested and Morgan snorted. "What?"

"You want me to help you with manual labour? Are you going to be paying me?"

"Jesus, I just thought it would be a good opportunity for us to hang out together. If all you really want to do is sit in the same room and _watch_ me paint, then I don't really give a shit."

Morgan shook her head with a smirk, "you know I wouldn't be able to just let you paint on your own."

Riley huffed at her friend's words but rolled her eyes. She had a point, Morgan liked to offer up her two cents, which wasn't always warranted, and Riley wasn't a big fan of the idea of painting, but she could do it. She could manage to paint a few walls in a house that she was sort of surprised her and Peter could even afford.

Then again, he _had_ played for the Cubs, his father died and his sister died, both rather recently. The guy was probably pretty well off, and that wasn't even mentioning the fact that he was a _District Attorney_. Riley worked at an engineering company, so she was no chump when it came to money either.

"I'm going to surprise Peter and paint his office hot pink." Riley stated, a serious expression on her face.

"He'd probably love that." Morgan laughed and Riley quickly joined her, clearly kidding about the paint colour. "Maybe we could paint his office 'Sonny Carisi blue."

All Riley could do in response was laugh. Boy she was really going to miss living with Morgan, but she knew that living with Peter was going to be just as awesome. She loved him so much and he was really, _really_ good to her. He was definitely one of the best guys she had ever met and she wouldn't trade him for anything.

When two more people showed up at the apartment, the kitchen was suddenly filled with every occupant in the apartment, Riley leaning her butt against the counter with Peter beside her while Sonny sat at the table with Rafael Barba, former ADA and Sonny's friend, the last man to fill up his groomsmen party. Peter was slated to be his best man and then Gina's husband and Bella's boyfriend made four to complete the quartet.

Amanda Rollins was moving around the kitchen, looking at all the items laid out on the counter before taking up a stance near Morgan, here to help because that's what friends did for each other, plus it got her out of the house and gave her a little break from her two kids.

"You sure you want to move in with this guy?" Amanda asked, jerking a thumb in Sonny's direction.

"You could do better." Barba tossed out with a sarcastic smirk.

"Yeah? Like who? Stone's taken." Morgan countered and Riley latched on to Peter, letting everyone in the room know that he was indeed taken and she wasn't going to let him go any time soon.

"What about me?" Barba offered, still smirking.

"You never asked." Morgan huffed. "So I'm settling for Sonny Bunny. Wait, do you have siblings because that might make me change my mind."

"Only child."

"That's super tempting."

"You two going to keep flirting or are we going to be moving things now?" Sonny looked at Barba. "You helping with the manual labour or you too scared of breaking a nail?"

"This guy was your ADA before Peter?" Riley spoke up, looking at the man she had never actually met before. "Actually?"

"Yes." Barba answered and looked her over. "Stone steal you like he stole my job?"

"I didn't…" Peter started but trailed off, seeing the smirk on Barba's face growing.

"Such sass." Morgan beamed. "Is it like a requirement for the job of ADA?"

"It definitely helps." Barba shot back.

"So what you're really saying is that I could've slept with you instead of this guy?" Riley gave Peter's chest a pat and he immediately grabbed her hand, keeping her right next to him. "Okay, Peter, you're way sexier, and a lot more my type."

"But Rafi's _so_ sassy." Morgan threw out, Sonny and Amanda sucked in an anxious breath at Morgan's calling him Rafi. It was just not right, but Barba, who they fully expected to freak out at Morgan, remained calm and almost unphased. What was with this girl and why did she get to call him Rafi? "And again, your type is anything with a functioning penis."

"Good type." Amanda grinned, brushing off the anticipated blow out at the use of the name 'Rafi'.

"I'd go straight for you." Barba remarked, giving Riley a quick once over.

"Oooh, I see." Riley nodded her understanding. "Your type is also anything with a functioning penis."

"Hence why the flirting doesn't _really_ bother him." Morgan added in.

"Just for the record, this guy," Riley waved her hand in Barba's direction, "is totally the type of person to have a sex dungeon."

"Of course I do." Barba leveled her with a look. "Don't you?"

Riley could only shake her head no, not entirely sure what more to say to this man. He was clearly a match for her in the remark department, and it was very rarely that Riley was left speechless, but he had managed to do just that.

"One time in court he put his belt around his neck and asked a guy to choke him." Sonny pointed out.

"That's an interesting tactic." Peter managed to get the words out, no one else really sure what to say. Riley stared at him as though he was a foreign object, wondering where the hell they had been hiding this guy all this time. It was clear that he had been around long before she had shown up, but Peter had taken over, so that meant he hadn't been that close with Morgan, not until Sonny introduced them.

That was sort of a shame, this Barba guy was quite entertaining.

"Sometimes I question why I'm friends with you." Sonny quipped.

"Because I'm the only person that's willing to put up with you, aside from Morgan here." Barba fired back. "Still not sure why she chose you of all people."

"Hey, lots of people put up with me- I have lots of friends. Stone here's my friend."

"Forced to be, doesn't count."

"Oh bite me!" Sonny spat at him but the former ADA merely cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.

"Fair enough, but I get to pick where."

"Guys." Amanda stepped in between them and held her hands up to both of them, trying to separate them with distance but also her movements. "We're here for a job."

"Right, so there's a bed that needs to be moved down to the truck." Sonny stated, trying desperately to ignore the banter going on in the kitchen. He leveled his eyes on Barba who shook his head no, not surprisingly, but Amanda dropped her arms down to her sides and wandered out of the kitchen, Barba trailing after her as Morgan joined them.

Sonny hung back and looked at Riley, trying to picture her with Barba and not seeing it at all. First of all, Barba's sexuality was questionable at the best of times but Sonny had seen Morgan's ex partner, the very partner she had slept with, and now he saw her with Stone, no Barba wasn't really her type. He shuddered at where they'd be now if it had been Barba and not Stone but didn't actually want to think too much more bout it. Stone was much easier to be around, and he genuinely seemed to like Sonny without all the sass attached.

"Guy's got a Napoleon complex like you wouldn't believe." Sonny remarked with a shake of his head.

"He seems nice. Did you really steal his job?" Riley looked up at Peter.

"I was trying to prosecute him, I, in no way stole his job. He left, by his own choice."

"Okay." She shrugged and tossed a smile onto her face. "You're so much more attractive than Napoleon anyways."

"A lot less sassy." Sonny tossed out and waved at the two of them.

"Less sassy than my Peter?" Riley faked a gasp and Peter swatted at her backside, but Riley leapt forward and broke out into a run, heading into Morgan's room where her bed was in pieces, the largest of which was the mattress and box spring.

Well that was going to be a bitch to get down the hallway, but hell, wasn't that why everyone was here? Wasn't that why they had corralled Amanda and Barba here, for the express purpose of moving big pieces of furniture?

It was easy enough to get the mattress out into the hallway and into the stairwell, it was harder to get the thick mattress around the corner of the stairs. The five of them were in the stairwell, Amanda back in the apartment taping up the boxes that were full, while Morgan manned the top part of the mattress with Riley and the three guys held the bottom of it on the stairs, trying to shove it around the bend.

"Pivot." Morgan commanded and Riley snorted at her friend, knowing that she had seen too many episodes of 'Friends' for her word choice not to be on purpose. "Guys pivot!"

Riley threw her hands up and took a step up the stairs, watching as Sonny, Peter and Barba seemed to struggle to get the mattress to bend enough that it would go around the stairs.

"I swear to god Mo, if you say-"

"Pivot, pivot, _pivot_!" She called out to them and Riley burst into laughter, not even bothering to try and compose herself. "Seriously, just pivot."

Peter let go of the mattress, as did Barba, which left Sonny holding it up on his own while Morgan was barely hanging on to it at the top. Sonny bent over to try and compose himself, pulling it together before he barked back at Morgan. If she told him to 'pivot' one more time, he wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he knew it wouldn't be pretty.

He sucked in a breath, tried to calm himself down and then released the breath, but he found himself jumping at the sight of Riley's legs right next to his. When had she come down the stairs to help them? When had she appeared on the same landing as the three of them?

"Let me see what the issue is." Riley announced and gave Sonny a pat on the back. "Nice ass Mr. Fancy Lawyer Guy, I used to wonder what was so great about you but that is a nice butt."

"Right!" Barba yelped.

"Rafi, please." Morgan called down.

"What, I'd do him."

"He's mine."

"Okay, sorry I said anything." Riley mumbled and wandered closer to the edge of the next set of stairs. She felt Peter's hand drag across her back and she peered at him. "Let the engineer figure this shit out."

"Yes! Great idea! The smartest person here should take a look." Morgan waved her hands in the air in celebration.

"I take offense to that, we all went to law school." Peter looked over at Sonny, then Barba.

"Harvard specifically." Barba added in.

"Right, no I get that, but this is an engineering problem, you can't sue the stairs into letting you move the mattress down it." Morgan argued. "We just got to let Riley do some physics, maybe some vector calculations-"

"I have an idea." Riley announced, effectively cutting Morgan off before she could throw out any more random engineering terms. Riley glanced down the next set of stairs, then back up to where Morgan was standing. "Sonny Bunny, fellow fancy lawyers, you guys have all got to move."

"She's going to pivot." Morgan stated seriously.

Riley snorted at her and jogged back up to where Morgan was standing. She paused, looked over at Morgan with a smirk, and took off down the stairs directly next to the mattress. When she was about halfway down the flight, she launched herself at the mattress, forcing it around the bend in the stairs.

Peter caught her before she had a chance to tumble down the next flight but Riley was laughing as she sat on the landing at his feet. It had worked, her stupid, crazy idea had worked and it had nothing to do with Morgan and her idiotic 'pivot' command.

"Who wants the next bend?" Riley called out and clambered to her feet, Sonny immediately throwing his hand up.

Moving day was certainly turning out to be a lot less stressful than either girl could've imagined.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"It's so empty." Riley remarked at the end of moving day. Morgan's room was cleaned right out and the stuff that she hadn't taken from the kitchen was split up between boxes to be moved into their house or put back into the cupboards for use until it was Riley's time to leave their apartment. "There's like an echo."

"I can stay here tonight-"

"Duh." Riley cut Peter off and leveled him with a glare. "The fact that you even thought I wouldn't want you to stay here with me is ridiculous, I thought you knew me."

He laughed at her and slipped his fingers into hers, gripping her hand tightly. She let out a sigh but stepped away from Morgan's bedroom door, letting him lead her to her own bedroom, which was half packed up, most of her books in boxes against the wall, waiting to be moved.

He let go of her hand and took a seat at the chair at her desk, leaning back against the back of it and looking at her as she peered around the room. It hadn't been sad, not until this very moment, not until it was real that Morgan was gone and soon, she would be too. This apartment was just a stepping stone, but it felt like so much more to Riley.

Her and Morgan had spent so many years here, so much time together and it was sad to see it being left in the past.

Logically she knew it had to, her and Morgan couldn't live in the apartment together forever, but it didn't hurt any less.

"Some of these can go." Riley sighed and waved her arms at the books that remained on her shelf. There weren't all that many in comparison to what was already packed, but she knew that some of them weren't worth taking with her. Some of them she could donate, or sell if she really had the time and motivation. "And I guess we should figure out what to do with all the furniture Mo left."

"We have room at the house for a lot of it." Peter pointed out and Riley wandered over to the shelves with books still remaining on them. She ran her finger over the spines, reading the titles and carefully picking out ones that she wanted to get rid of, which were promptly tossed onto her bed in a rough pile. "Morgan took everything she wanted?"

Riley nodded her head at him. She was still left with most of a living room set, the kitchen table and chairs, plus all the furniture in her room. It wouldn't have seemed so bad except Peter had stuff too and she didn't know what they were planning on keeping or getting rid of.

He had a point though, their house would hold a lot more furniture than Sonny's apartment, so that was a plus, but did they really need to move _everything_ they owned into their place?

"We should buy a new bed." Riley stated, after a few beats of silence. He looked at her and she lowered her butt down to sit on the edge of the bed, a couple of books digging into her lower back. "A new bed that's _just_ ours. Yours has been used by other girls, mine's not really all that big, why not get a new one?"

"Honestly, I'm game for whatever you-"

"Don't do that." She cut him off. "Don't try to placate me. If you really want a new bed, fine, but if you don't think that makes sense, don't say 'I'm indifferent, it's up to you'."

"In this case, I think it's fine." He offered. "Your bed we can keep, set it up in the second bedroom upstairs or store it in the basement. It'll be fine for when our kids are older."

"Ah, kids." She grinned and crossed her arms over her chest. "My bed would be perfect for kids. Your bed probably should be burned. We can have a slut send-off for it."

He rolled his eyes and shifted over to sit next to her on the bed. Her eyes were looking at her legs but when he set his hand on her thigh, she turned to face him, and caught the smile on his face.

"I'm just going to pretend that you didn't say that." Peter remarked. "We can keep your dressers since they match, both couches can come, we can put one in the basement-"

"Mine. Yours is nicer. And my desk is coming with us too, I love my desk."

"But not all of these books." Peter reaffirmed and Riley reached behind her, grabbing hold of one of the books she tossed there minutes earlier. When she offered it to him, he took it and set it against his lap. "I'm really glad you decided to move in with me."

"Yeah well, staying here would be weird." She shot back with a scoff. "I like our house, I can't wait to move in, honestly."

"Then we can talk about sperm again. That is super weird to say, is that normal, that talking about sperm freaks me out?"

Riley snickered and shook her head, before flashing him a small smile, "no, I told you I googled it, the whole process is weird. Less weird than in vitro, but still super weird."

"In vitro?"

"That's the step after artificial insemination." Riley explained. "I was doing a _lot_ of googling one night, it's all very clinical, but your process is pretty much the same for both, I just need the sperm."

"Maybe we can stick to natural methods for a little longer, yeah?" Peter pressed and she fought off the smirk threatening to break. "I think we can afford to wait."

"You're the old guy in this relationship." She teased but took her bottom lip in between her teeth in thought. "I actually forgot about that deal we made. I guess things were just really chaotic lately."

"It's okay."

"I guess." She shrugged, leaning against him. "Morgan mentioned babies when she and I were in the kitchen, she said you and I would have cute babies and I…I should've told her, it was a great opportunity to just spit it out like 'hey Mo, last I heard, I can't have kids'. I just don't know, I don't want her to know because I don't want that weight on her."

"You'll tell her when you're ready." Peter said softly. "And maybe you won't even have to."

"By some miracle." Riley muttered. "Maybe the new house will be magic."

"Speaking of the new house, what's this I hear about my office being painted hot pink?"

Riley threw her head back in laughter and let her body fall onto her bed, the books remaining underneath her and digging into all sorts of places on her back. She had forgotten that she had told Morgan that, but the idea of him having a nice, classy office with bright pink walls was too comical not to laugh out loud at.

"I said that, I definitely said that." Riley gave his hip a swat and he leaned over her, looking down into her eyes. "The other option was 'Sonny Carisi blue'."

"Beige?" Peter pressed, Riley reached a hand up and rested it on the side of his face, ghosting her fingers over his cheek.

"Literally any colour you want." She smiled. "But you know I'm painting our bedroom lilac purple, right?"

"Again, beige? Maybe a light gray colour even?"

"I'm just kidding." She laughed. "God, I feel bad for you, I can't believe you picked me to be with when there's so many other girls out there who are less…weird."

He shook his head at her, "I'm rather partial to you."

"Aw thanks." She scrunched her nose up and waited for him to close the distance between them, pressing a soft kiss against her lips. When he pulled back, she studied his eyes and let out a soft sigh of content. "Want to know a secret?"

"Of course."

"I'm not wearing any underwear." She beamed and he shook his head at her, wondering how many more times she was going to tease him with that particular gag. "One of these days it _will_ be true."

And when that day came, Peter would be ready.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"So?" Sonny looked at Morgan, who was standing over the end of her bed, which was now in it's final resting place in Sonny's apartment. She had gotten the sheets on and set it up, ready to climb into for the night. "You good?"

"Fine." She shot back. "Why wouldn't I be fine?"

The slight squeak in her voice suggested that she wasn't fine at all and it didn't require Sonny's detective skills to pick up on it either. There was clearly something wrong with Morgan, and chances were good that it had something to do with the fact that she was no longer living with her best friend.

"Mo, are you really going to start off here lying to me?"

Morgan gently shook her head no and let out a sigh, throwing herself onto the bed with a groan. She rolled onto her bad and stared up at the ceiling, her arms falling out to her sides.

"Fine. Totally fine. I don't want to tell you because I'm pretty sure I'll make you feel sad." Morgan explained, tipping her head from side to side. "So I'm going to stick with 'I'm fine'."

"Yeah well the fact that you've said 'fine' five times in the last two minutes suggests maybe you're not so fine. Whatever you have to say, you won't hurt my feelings."

"Sonny don't push this." She growled, and he came to stand at her legs, hopping up onto the bed so that he was right next to her. "Jesus, what? You don't quit, do you?"

"If you miss her, you could just call her." Sonny stated, even going as far as to pass her his phone so she could do exactly that but Morgan shook her head and he carefully tucked the device into his back pocket. "I won't take offense. Riley's been around a lot longer than I have."

"Sonny, seriously?" Morgan leaned up on her elbows and looked at him. "I'm not going to call Riley on our first night together, I've slept over plenty of times without having to talk to my friend."

"Well then talk to me? Tell me what's wrong?"

Morgan shut her eyes and tried to figure out the best way to say what she didn't really want to say in the first place. She didn't want to hurt his feelings but she knew he wasn't going to just drop it, he was going to push her and push her until she caved in because he didn't want to start their apartment sharing off on the wrong foot.

"Everything just feels weird. I still feel like I'm just spending the night in your apartment, it doesn't feel like mine and yours, it just feels like _yours_."

"Well, huh, I mean, the bed's yours." Sonny pointed out, running his hands over the covers. "It's a nice bed too, very comfy, I like it- no I love it."

"Great so it's your apartment with some of my shit in it." Morgan groaned and moved her body so that she was leaning against his side. "Honestly, it's just going to take some time."

"If it makes you feel any better, we can move whatever you want in or out, up or down, I just want you to be happy, hell if you don't like the way my cupboards are organized, we can change that too. I can learn to put the seat down on the toilet, or uh, put the toilet paper on the roll the other way- whatever you want Mo."

When she sighed yet again, she couldn't tell if she was feeling better or worse. Sonny was willing to upend his entire apartment for her but that wasn't what she wanted, she just wanted things to not feel so weird but that was going to have to come with time. She couldn't force it.

It _was_ only the first night, certainly there would be a period of adjustment of more than a few hours. She needed time, lots of time, to get used to everything, plus it wasn't like she could move back with Riley because Riley wasn't going to be in the apartment much longer either. This was where she was going to be for a long time to come and she was going to have to get used to it.

Things were changing and she knew it wasn't going to be easy but this was all so overwhelming to her, it had happened so fast.

"Can we move Riley in here with us?" Morgan tried to tease but her voice sounded more pathetic than anything.

"What and put her in a dog bed next to the dresser?" Sonny chuckled. "Mo, it's okay to miss her."

"Is it?" She tipped her head up and met Sonny's eyes. "I want to be here with you and I just feel bad because all I can think about is…"

"Her? Not being in the apartment? I get that. But you can still miss having Riley around. She was right there with you for years; I know it's going to take more than a few hours for you to move on from that."

Morgan wrapped her arms around him and held on to him tightly, not wanting to let go. She hated feeling like he wasn't enough for her at that very minute, but what he had said hit her hard. Riley had been there for a lot longer than he had, she knew things about her that no one else knew, which only came from being best friends for as long as they had been.

Sonny didn't sound upset at her feeling sad, he almost sounded like he understood, like he was prepared for something like this to happen. Morgan had always assumed it would've been Riley who couldn't handle the change but maybe it was her, maybe she needed to figure out how to get on with her life now that she was no longer living with the person she spent years and years with.

Her and Sonny would get there one day, but it had barely been more than a year since they had even met, let alone dated.

"We should've weened you off of her." Sonny joked and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "Started with one night here, then a night and a day, two nights with a day in between, two days to two nights, so on and so on."

"Sonny I'm not an idiot." Morgan sighed. "I know that never would've worked."

"Might've. You don't know that."

She let out a slight chuckle at his words and he reluctantly peeled himself away from her, but remained sitting beside her. She buried her face against his neck and kissed his skin, thanking him without words for understanding her, even if her issues were probably super weird and abnormal in his eyes.

He wasn't judging her, he wasn't telling her to move on, he was supporting her, which was all she could really ask for, even if she did feel a little bad about missing Riley so soon after moving in.

This was their first night together in _their_ apartment and all she could do was complain and miss her friend. She should've been ecstatic to be with Sonny, maybe even ravaging him in bed, but her heart wasn't in it.

"Let me up for a sec?" Sonny requested and Morgan freed him from her grasp, watching him in wonder as he disappeared out of the bedroom, leaving her there all alone.

What could he be doing? He had left the bedroom but why? To get something? Oh lord, was he getting her food, maybe some alcohol? Did he have a present for her?

She straightened up on the bed and waited patiently for him to come back, when he did, he held a wrapped box in his arms. She cocked her head sideways but took the gift when he offered it to him, a bow stuck to the top of the brightly wrapped present. It was shiny and purple and Morgan immediately knew that this wasn't from him.

"Riley gave it to me a few days ago, told me to give it to you and said that I'd know when the right time was." Sonny explained, though in all honesty, he still wasn't sure what constituted as the 'right time'. This seemed like as good a time as any though, he just hoped that whatever was in the box would help Morgan and not make her more upset.

She ripped through the layer of wrapping paper and crunched it up into a ball, handing it to him before looking at the blank cardboard box. It was a decent size but super flat and when Morgan pulled the top of the box off, she was not surprised to see a picture frame inside, a layer of tissue paper covering it to protect it from damage.

"Seriously." Morgan muttered to herself and swiped at the tissue paper, immediately laughing at the picture within the frame.

It was one of her favourites of her and Riley, back from the days when they were in high school. The two of them were sitting side by side on a bench at some park near their houses but Riley had the stupidest look on her face; she had one side of her nose scrunched up and a goofy smile that bared as many teeth as possible. Morgan hadn't noticed until after the picture had been taken that her pal hadn't been smiling seriously like she was.

It was too funny and Morgan let out a laugh at how normal she looked smiling on the bench next to her idiot of a best friend.

"Seems like now was the right time." Sonny remarked but Morgan was too busy staring at the photograph with a giant grin on her face.

"This is going on my nightstand." Morgan announced and crawled up the bed, placing the photo exactly where she claimed she was going to. Sonny tried hard not to roll his eyes, suddenly feeling like maybe the dog bed idea wasn't so bad after all. "My Riley."

"I'm marrying a nutcase." Sonny stated and Morgan merely flashed him a smile over his shoulder.

"Maybe, but we're still a long way off from being as nutty as your stupid sisters."

"Touché Mo."

Touché indeed.


	17. Chapter 17

Usually Sonny was not intimidated by approaching Peter Stone, today was a different story. It wasn't like he was nervous that he was doing something wrong on his new job but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Derek Delmonico was clearly guilty of the assault he had been 'falsely' accused of, so what did that mean for Sonny?

Was this case now a slam dunk? No, no he wasn't going to think that way. This was his job, his livelihood. He could do this- whatever _this_ was.

Knocking on Peter's door, he waited, feeling a lump of uncertainty weighing heavily in his gut, which may or may not have had anything to do with the giant bear claw he had devoured for breakfast.

"Yeah?" Peter's voice called out and Sonny quickly opened the door, wandering into the office and letting the door fall shut behind him. "What's up?"

"Derek Delmonico."

"What about him?"

Sonny was taken aback at how nonchalant Peter Stone seemed to be about a man who was evidently guilty. Normally he shouldn't have found himself rooting for guys like Delmonico, but the guy had seemed so genuine. In fact, if it hadn't been for the run in at the bar and Delmonico seeing Riley, Sonny was fairly certain he'd still feel like the guy had a chance at winning.

It hadn't happened that way though and upon digging a little deeper, it would seem that Riley wasn't the only girl he had tried to get handsy with in high school- or later in life.

"Do you honestly believe he didn't do anything more than _try_ to assault Riley?" Sonny had wanted to know ever since they had run into Delmonico at the bar, and surely Peter had wondered too- but would he provide Sonny with any sort of reliable answer?

"I do. With the story they told us at the bar and the conversation I had with her afterwards, I believe her. She's been in some other situations she confessed to that I'm still concerned about, but I trust Riley."

"Okay. I just want to get this guy so bad; you know? He hurt my friend, he goes after women, he's just a scumbag."

Bowing his head, Peter found himself feeling the same way. He didn't want Derek Delmonico walking around as free man either. What if he ever ran into Riley and she didn't have someone with her, would he try something? He obviously wasn't an innocent man who was falsely accused, but would he deliberately go after someone he had failed to get to in the past?

That always seemed like a possibility in his line of work. He had faith in Riley, but like he had told her, there were times when strong and powerful women could still have moments of weakness, especially at the hands of a male.

"Delmonico…I just…I don't know…"

"Whatever you're about to say, I think you're doing just fine." Peter added, sensing Sonny had no idea where to go from there.

"But I…this is so different from police work." Sonny shook his head.

"You would consider yourself a good detective, wouldn't you?" Peter asked with a slight tilt of his head.

"Uh, yeah."

"You went to law school?"

"Yes."

"You know what you're doing?"

"Most of the time." Sonny answered with a small smirk. "Not when it comes to relationships though."

"I was referring to work." Peter offered him a small smile. "Your fiancé's a little hard to read sometimes, I'll give you that though."

"My fiancé? How about your girlfriend?"

"Oh Riley's easy to read. When she's wearing heels, she wants sex. When she's wearing skirts, she wants sex, I mean basically when she's not scowling, she wants sex and even then, chances are good-"

"You're playing with me here, aren't you?" Sonny asked, shaking his head in disbelief. He lowered himself down and took a seat in one of the chairs across from Peter's desk. "Was she okay the other night?"

Peter let out a small sigh and nodded his head. He knew exactly what night Sonny was referring too and considering Riley's apartment had been half emptied out earlier that day, she had been fine at night. Maybe a little quieter than normal but overall, she hadn't had a panic attack, or had even really gone down that road. Overall, her first night alone in the apartment (well not technically alone, Peter _had_ stayed) had been a success.

"Riley's been really good lately." Peter answered honestly.

"Did you talk to her about your whole _sperm_ problem?" Sonny pressed, wondering if his advice had helped the man out or not. It still bothered him to know that he knew something about Riley that Morgan didn't but Sonny had sworn his secrecy.

"All is good." Peter nodded with a chuckle. "She agreed to take it slower. Have you ever googled artificial insemination?"

He flinched at the words that Peter used and shook his head no, "have you?"

"I started." Peter admitted and he too leaned back in his chair, getting a little more comfortable. "I'm pretty sure that's definitely going to be Riley's next step."

"She could still…you know…naturally?"

Peter shrugged at him, "I don't know the details of what her issue is but I don't think the natural method is going to work out that well. I know we've only been trying for a couple of months and we still have time, but I'm under the understanding this is more serious than the normal 'we're having trouble conceiving' idea."

"So you don't know what's wrong with her?"

Shaking his head, Peter looked across the desk at Sonny. It wasn't like Riley had been closed off about her issues but to this day, the most he ever heard was that she had them. There were no details, no idea on what could be wrong and if the issue could be fixed, but he also knew it wasn't something that she had just decided.

Nearly a year ago, she had informed him she was going to look more into it. He had assumed that nothing really panned out or else why would she have even looked into alternative methods of getting pregnant

"Well I don't know what to say." Sonny confessed. "This is new to me."

"Me too. I don't know that I ever really thought about the possibilities of not having a kid the way god intended."

"Didn't take you for being religious." Sonny scoffed. "God intends for a lot of things to happen, sometimes it even seems cruel. If I know one thing about Riley, it's that she doesn't give up."

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. I don't want her to get hurt."

Sonny leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. The idea of Riley wanting something so bad and not being able to do it on her own _was_ scary to Sonny and he wasn't even invested in the girl. Riley not having a baby, especially now that Sonny knew she really wanted one, was a sad picture. Apparently, it was a sad picture that Peter wasn't entirely sure he could face.

"So you're not the problem though?" Sonny pressed, wondering what the hell he could even do to help Peter, or Riley for that matter.

"No." Peter shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"That's too bad, Riley would make a great mom."

Peter shot him a sad smile, knowing that the man in front of him was just trying to help him feel a little better. Yeah, he thought Riley would make a great mom too, he just really hoped it was in the cards for them. Even though the idea of artificial insemination made Peter uneasy, he knew he'd do anything if it got Riley the child she so desperately deserved.

Sonny didn't know what more to say, so he let out a small sigh and let his mind wander to his own situation. Kids sounded like a great next step for him and Morgan, but it would have to happen after they got married, and then that would involve moving into a bigger place. His apartment barely fit the two of them comfortably, he couldn't imagine adding a baby into the mix, but that _was_ something he really wanted.

He wasn't getting any younger either. Marriage came first though, at least by his religious standpoints. He was a catholic, he wanted to be considered a good one at that, so babies would be on hold until after they were married, _and_ more importantly, until he talked to Morgan about it.

"You two bought a house though, that's great." Sonny remarked, trying to move on to a lighter topic. A house, yes, that was a good idea in his books. Marriage, a house, then kids. Simple enough, now he just needed to express his desires for the future with Morgan. Maybe moving into a place that wasn't just his before would help her move forward easier too. Maybe they should've done that from the beginning.

"She's really happy with the house." Peter smiled. "I think it'll be a great move for the both of us."

"You'll have to have me over some time to see it."

"Do you paint?" Peter pointed a finger at him and Sonny cocked his head sideways. "Most of the rooms need to be painted. Riley said she'd be fine doing it but I think we could use all the help we can get. The faster we get the walls painted, the faster we can move in."

"I'm sure I could put these hands to good use painting." Sonny offered, holding his hands out in front of him. "I can definitely talk Morgan into helping."

"Riley seems to think it won't take her that long but I don't know if she realizes how many walls we actually have to paint." Peter tossed out. "Painting party at the new house, I'll provide pizza and beer, you bring yourself and Morgan?"

Sonny merely nodded at him, knowing that the idea of painting someone else's house wasn't really that appealing, but hey, it would definitely help them out. In the long run, maybe Peter and Riley would have to return the favour, especially if Sonny and Morgan eventually moved into a place of their own that required some minor repairs.

A painting party maybe didn't sound all that bad after all. Plus Peter said he'd provide the beer. Free booze was a good a reason as any to help a friend out.

"By the way how was Morgan the other night?" Peter questioned, immediately catching Sonny flinching at his question.

"I now have a picture made of nightmares on her side of the bed." Sonny answered, Peter looking at him and wanting more of an explanation. "Riley left her a memento."

" _The_ picture?" Peter asked, but it was clear by the smile on his face that he knew exactly what the memento was. Riley had shown him the lovely gift she had put together for Morgan before she had wrapped it, which she did at his place so Morgan couldn't stumble upon it. Yeah, he knew exactly what Sonny was talking about.

"You've seen the picture and still want to move in with that girl?" Sonny joked. "Riley scares me sometimes."

Peter let out a laugh, "she scares me most of the time, but I love her anyways."

"Yeah, you think the two of them will really be okay now that they're not in the apartment together?" Sonny wanted to know what he really thought. He knew Morgan was having a tough time but it wasn't anything that some time wouldn't fix, right?

Riley and Morgan had been best friends since third grade, surely, they'd miss one another, but there had to be a point in time where they knew they'd have to part ways, at least when it came to living arrangements.

There was no way the two of them believed they'd stay together in the same place until they died.

"They'll be fine, they're stronger than anyone could possible think." Peter grinned.

"True, Mo's survived my sisters so far and that takes a _lot_ of strength." Sonny chuckled.

"There you go."

"I'm just concerned about her bridal shower. My sisters and more of my family. Morgan's got a lot to go against."

"My money's on Morgan, so long as she has Riley there."

"Last I heard, she invited Barba." Sonny tossed out casually. "He's the biggest bitch of them all."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Morgan thanked god that she had decided to arrive at her bridal shower with Barba at her side. She would've gone with Riley but Riley had to be there earlier to help set up, and Morgan was sure that there was mention of Riley's infamous baked goods. Hell yeah she loved when Riley baked, but she also loved when Riley walked in to places with her, especially when that place was Sonny's mother's house.

Most of the people she expected to be there already were, including the three sisters (Bella was standing next to Riley and apparently enjoying herself so far), her own mother, Riley's Mother, Sonny's mother, and Amanda Rollins. Olivia had been invited but Riley had boldly informed Morgan that she was 'being a badass cop woman and working'. It was a small party but it was certainly enough people for Morgan.

She wasn't even that fond of being here, dealing with the sisters rattled her and to add her mother to the mix would just make things worse. In that regard, she was silently thanking god for Rafael Barba, and she wasn't even a religious person.

Walking in to the backyard, Morgan's eyes lit up at the sight of how her bridal shower was set up there. A table was off to one side piled with gifts for her while a second table was set up next to it with an assortment of food, mostly baked goods, but also some appetizer style finger foods that Morgan assumed Sonny's mother had made.

"At least the food looks good." Barba remarked from right next to her and Morgan nodded her head in agreement. She wasn't all that excited to be here with Gina and Theresa, who still seemed to hate her guts, and her mother, who hadn't been all that motherly for as long as Morgan could remember.

"Darling!" Morgan's mother called out to her upon seeing her wander into the party. "Morgan, how are you?"

"Oh she's like that huh?" Barba muttered, Morgan nodding one more time.

"Mom! This is Rafi, Rafi, my mom Charlotte." Morgan made introductions and Barba offered his hand to the older blonde woman who closed the distance between them.

"My friends call me Rafael." He smiled, and Morgan knew he was already enjoying himself. God she adored this man as her friend and often found herself wondering why they hadn't hung out more before now?

Sonny hadn't introduced them for quite a while, but still, she had liked him from the start. He could definitely hold his own against anyone, surely her mother and Sonny's sisters wouldn't be an exception to that. As good as Riley was at defending Morgan, she wasn't quite as snippy, not that it was her fault, but Riley had put up with Charlotte for a _lot_ longer than Barba, surely her desire to keep fighting was wearing out.

"Charlotte." Her mother responded, reluctantly shaking the man's hand. "I was under the impression that bridal showers were typically for women only."

"Oh Rafi's gay." Morgan tossed out.

"Right." Charlotte looked disturbed by Morgan's statement, but she knew better than to make a scene in front of people, because that would only reflect badly on her. "Who's god awful idea was it to have this little party outside? And why aren't you wearing something nicer than a pair of jeans?"

"Mom," Morgan paused and sucked in a breath, trying to remain calm, "I don't know, okay, I didn't plan my own bridal shower, you'll have to ask Ry."

"Where is that Riley, where'd she run off to?"

As if she heard her name, Riley was quick to spot Charlotte cornering Morgan and jogged across the back yard, setting her hand on Morgan's mom's shoulders as she joined them. She looked between the three of them, sensing things were already tense, but that was pretty much what happened when Morgan and Charlotte were in the same vicinity.

Charlotte had always expected more from Morgan, wanting her to be prim and proper, to do something worth while in her mind. Policing was far from what Charlotte envisioned for Morgan, but Riley knew it was what Morgan had always wanted to do. Honestly, it probably didn't even matter what Morgan did, her mom would never really be happy with her, not unless she was a housewife who stayed at home and looked after the kids.

"Charlie here was just telling me how excited she is to see you marry an ADA." Riley stated, throwing a grin in Morgan's direction.

"Oh so now that he's a big time lawyer, he's acceptable for me to marry?" Morgan leveled her mother with a glare. "But when he was just a cop, that wasn't good enough?"

"Riley, I've told you to call me Char _lotte_." Morgan's mother scolded but Riley didn't even flinch. Morgan knew she did it on purpose. "It was the name I was given, and it's the name I'll use."

"Can't teach an old dog new tricks." Riley shrugged. "Mo here-"

"Please call her Morgan."

"It was the name she was given after all." Barba threw in, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

" _Mo_ here should get to her seat so we can start on presents. Who doesn't love a good present?" Riley carried on and grabbed Morgan's hand, pulling her away from her mother and Barba. She led her over to a chair that held more padding than the others and placed Morgan on it.

Presenting her with a white satin sash that read 'Bride to Be', Morgan gladly slipped it over her shoulder and then let Riley place a plastic silver tiara on top of her head. When Charlotte scowled at how ridiculous the plastic crown looked, Morgan knew this was all part of a ruse to piss her mom off. She'd give Riley kudos where it was due, the girl knew exactly what she was doing.

"Hello there Mo." Riley's mother glided over and took the seat next to her, giving Morgan a gentle pat on the back as she did so.

"Hey Audrey." Morgan smiled back and looked up at her best friend, wondering how she had convinced her own mother to drive down from Boston simply to attend her bridal shower.

Morgan had grown up with Riley and Riley's mother had been there for her just as much as she had for Riley. She appreciated how much Audrey cared about her and loved her, it definitely helped her get over the fact that her own mother was more concerned about how she looked to other people and being financially well off.

Thank god for Audrey Prescott.

"You look so beautiful." Audrey remarked and Morgan found herself beaming. Yes, this was a wonderful mother. "And here I am for a bridal shower, I hear you're marrying a policeman."

"Actually, he's a lawyer now." Morgan corrected.

"As long as he makes you happy, who cares right?" Audrey tossed a smile onto her face, gave Morgan another pat on the back and stood up, wandering off to grab something to eat. Riley flopped down in the recently vacated chair and blew out a breath, clearly frustrated at how many awful people were at the party.

"I love your mom." Morgan teased and Riley rolled her eyes.

"I love her too."

"How did you get her to come?"

"Uh I asked her. She said she'd love to come to your bridal shower. Easiest invite I had to make."

"Really?"

"Yeah, your mom was a different story. She asked so many questions, I felt like I was in an interrogation, not that I would even know what that felt like, but god, who put the stick up your mom's ass? Honestly?"

Morgan snorted but leaned over to Riley, letting her give her an awkward hug. When Riley pulled away, she made her way to her feet and stood up, clearing her throat in order to get ready to make the announcement that they were going to do presents right away.

That way maybe Morgan's mom and Sonny's sisters would leave early and let the rest of them actually enjoy themselves. That was Riley's plan, but she didn't figure it'd be that easy.

"Hey if everyone can find a seat please?" Riley called out and without too many people choosing to ignore her, the chairs set up in a wide circle around the backyard filled up. Huh, okay, that was easier than she thought. Bella took the seat next to Riley's and Barba was quick to nab the chair on Morgan's other side, effectively sandwiching the bride-to-be in between himself and Riley. "I just want to thank everyone for coming, this means a lot to Morgan. I hope that you guys can share her special day with her too but until then, let's have a good time, yeah?"

"There's plenty of food, so please, help yourselves." Sonny's mother tossed out with a giant smile. Here was another mother that Morgan liked more than her own. Thank god for women like her and Audrey.

"On to the gifts." Morgan cheered, a grin on her face.

Riley was quick to walk over to the present table and grab a couple of them, handing them to Barba so that he could give her one at a time. She sat back down on the chair next to Morgan and threw her friend a smile, watching as Barba pulled the card out of the side of the giftbag, handing that to Morgan, who slipped the card out of the envelope and read it silently before throwing a smile in Bella's direction.

"This is from Bella." Morgan announced and took the bag from Barba, pulling out a tissue wrapped present from inside. She ripped the pink paper away from the item and when it was free, she smiled, letting the silk bathrobe unfurl from her hands, hanging in front of her. It was black with her future initials embroidered on the front of it. "Thanks Bella."

"I wasn't sure what to get you but the internet said this was nice idea."

"No it's definitely nice. I really like it."

"Black is for sluts." Theresa coughed but the words were very clear to Morgan, who immediately leveled her with a glare.

"There's no need to be jealous, I'm sure someone has enough fabric to make that in your size." Barba was quick to spit out and even Riley was impressed by his comeback. Well chalk one up to Barba, he was definitely doing his job, and for that, Morgan was grateful.

"Seriously Bella, thanks, this is really cute." Morgan continued to smile, handing the card, the bag and the robe over to Riley, who tucked it all together so that later Morgan would know who gave her what in order to send out thank you notes.

"It's really nice." Amanda piped up, reaching out towards the bag it was in to touch it. Riley held it out further and Amanda fingered the fabric, nodding her approval.

Barba stared across the circle at Theresa and handed Morgan the next gift, which was a little smaller but still in a giftbag. He pulled the card out too and she took it, freeing it from the envelope and reading it to herself.

"This is from Audrey." Morgan said and held her breath, knowing that whatever was in this bag was going to be better than what her mother got her, which was sad in her opinion.

She pulled out a long, rectangular box and flipped the lid open spotting a tennis bracelet tucked inside. There was a heart charm dangling from the silver chain and when Morgan caught the words engraved there, she let out a small whimper. It was her name engraved on one side and Sonny's on the other, the bracelet itself was beautiful and she knew that Audrey had gone out of her way to get her this.

"It's perfect." Morgan murmured, running her finger over the bracelet. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome Mo." Audrey replied, her smile wide and comforting.

"Her name is Morgan." Charlotte snipped but no one seemed to be paying any attention to her, except for Riley, who stood up and walked over to the presents while grinning at Charlotte the whole time.

She grabbed a couple more and offered them to Barba before taking the gift Morgan held, the one from her own mother, and putting it back into the bag. Morgan was already opening the card on the next gift, which was a pretty sturdy box tied with pink ribbon.

"Theresa _and_ Gina." Morgan read and flinched at the sheer weight of the gift. She peeled the paper off the box and when it was left bare, she cautiously freed the lid from the bottom and furrowed her eyebrows at the sight of a cookbook.

A cookbook? From two people?

Okay, well, it was nicer than she figured but still, a cookbook?

"So you can learn to cook Sonny's favourite meals." Theresa spoke up, plastering a saccharine smile on her face.

"Sonny's favourite meal surely isn't going to be found in that book." Barba retorted. Morgan bit back a laugh but politely flipped through the pages of the book.

Honestly, she wasn't all that mad, the idea of cooking some true Italian dishes was exciting, and if Sonny ended up liking them, that was all the better.

"Dominick-"

"Jesus Christ, his name is Sonny." Riley huffed. "And if you weren't getting the innuendo there Charlie, he was referring to Sonny eating your daughter, in a _sexual_ manner."

A silence fell over the entire bridal shower but Bella was the first one to snicker, which only caused Audrey and Sonny's mom to follow suit. Gina and Theresa looked absolutely appalled and Charlotte looked like she was ready to throw a tantrum.

"Thanks." Morgan managed to get out after a few seconds of giggling. Oh yes, Barba _and_ Riley were definitely doing an amazing job watching her back.

"I like her." Barba was quick to whisper to Morgan as Riley took the cookbook and stuffed the card inside of it, letting it fall to the ground near her chair. Morgan took the next gift in her hand, which was _just_ an envelope but that didn't mean it wasn't good.

She ripped it open, saw that it was from Sonny's mom and smiled at the gift certificate to the spa, a gift certificate for two. It was a nice spa too, not one of those cheap sketchy ones, so it must've cost the woman a pretty penny.

"This is so nice, thank you _so_ much." Morgan looked at her future mother-in-law.

"It's for two, and you don't have to take Sonny. In fact, if you need someone to go with you, I'm always up for some spa time." She replied with a cheeky grin, and Morgan couldn't help but match it with one of her own.

"Seriously, thank you so much, and I'll definitely think about bringing you along."

Riley took the envelope and carefully tucked the card and gift certificate in to it, tucking the whole thing into the same bag that contained the gift from Audrey. Barba went ahead and freed the card from the next bag, handing it to Morgan, but she knew by the loud 'ha' from the chair next to her that this was Riley's gift.

After reading the silly card to herself, Morgan rolled her eyes and dug into the bag, pulling out a pair of handcuffs lined with black fake fur.

"Those might come in handy on the job." Amanda piped up, trying to keep the mood light, but she knew it wasn't enough.

"Gross." Gina barked.

"Just because you are a boring lay doesn't mean everyone else has to be." Barba snapped back and Morgan tossed the cuffs right at Riley, hitting her in the chest. Riley held on to them as Morgan dug into the bag again, pulling out a package containing a vibrator, which was instantly dropped back into the bag before Morgan pulled out a small, velvet covered box.

When she flipped it open, she widened her eyes in awe at the earrings nestled within, earrings that almost perfectly matched the bracelet Audrey had given her.

"These are amazing Ry."

"Wear them when you use the other things, or not, that's up to you." Riley offered with a shrug.

"I can't believe you'd give a gift like that at a bridal shower." Theresa grumbled.

"I mean, you're probably just mad that she likes the vibrator more than your cookbook, and by the way, kudos, you two sure spent a lot." Riley countered.

"It's not about the price of a gift, it's the thought." Charlotte lectured and Riley made a face at her. "You're a bad influence for my Morgan."

"Never said I was good." Riley retorted.

"Your mother should be appalled-"

"Her mother is _not_ appalled, not even a little bit." Audrey cut in. "Go on Morgan, there's still more presents to open."

The next gift was from Barba, a simple envelope stuffed with cash in a card. Lovely, perfect, it was exactly what she expected from him and it was perfectly acceptable in her eyes. She didn't even bother to look over at her mother, who she knew who had turned her nose up at the idea of giving someone cash.

"Oh looks like mine's one of the ones left." Charlotte announced and wandered over to the gift table, grabbing the heavy crate-like box that was remaining on the table. She hefted it over and set it down roughly on the ground in front of Morgan, who looked at it and wondered why the hell her mother had gotten her a box full of wine. "There's no card, I didn't think it was necessary, it's such a perfect gift that you'd have to know it was from your own mother."

"So perfect you must've gotten white wine- oh those look red to me." Barba feigned a pout.

Morgan tried to press forward and pulled one of the bottles of wine out of the crate, looking at the label and realizing it was customized. Along the top part of the wine label it read 'First Christmas'. She gently set it back into the crate and pulled out the one beside it, reading the label 'First Anniversary'. Oh, okay, so there must be a bottle of wine for each milestone of the first of things to come in her marriage. The next bottles read 'First Fight', 'First Big Purchase' and 'First Baby' respectively.

Well it was _kind_ of sweet on her mother's part but surely her mother had to know she preferred white wine to red.

"Thanks mom." Morgan said softly, wondering what the hell she had done to deserve to have a mother like her very own. Wine was a nice gift but Audrey's present had been better and Sonny's mom's gift certificate also topped it. "Thanks everyone, you guys are so wonderful and thoughtful."

"Wait, we've got one more." Riley called out, walking over with the last present.

Morgan took the last giftbag and fished the card out, reading it and flashing Amanda a small smile. When she produced the contents of the gift bag, she let out a small gasp at the black lingerie dangling from her hands, a bra in one and a barely-there pair of panties in the other.

"Your friends are such sluts." Theresa remarked. "Seriously, who gives-"

"Technically giving her clothing to put on is the opposite of being slutty." Barba cut her off.

"Not if the clothing is underwear." Gina added.

"I'm sorry Virgin Mary, are we jealous that she's getting laid or pissed because you couldn't, even if you paid someone?"

"Why are you even here?" Theresa snarked.

"Why are you so obsessed with her sex life?"

"I'm…I'm not. I don't care." Theresa seemed to back off a little bit.

"Is that why your husband left?"

"Right so who wants cake?!" Riley's voice was borderline yelling but it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that she managed to put a stop to the bitchfest happening in front of _everyone_. "Morgan, please do us the honours of cutting the cake? Please? _Please_?"

Morgan was quick to get to her feet. She let Audrey lead her over to the table with the cake on it and with Bella, Amanda, Riley and Sonny's mom there too, Charlotte lingering but eventually joining them. When they were all crowded around her, Morgan got right to work on cutting the cake.

She hadn't realized that not everyone had followed her, which left Gina and Theresa free to wander over to the table with the food on it. Barba stood in front of his chair, looking between Morgan and the two sisters before deciding he wasn't quite done with them yet. They might've got some decent hits in but he was far from done hitting back.

"I hope she has Italian at the wedding, I don't need any fancy candy-ass appetizers that are barely a bite." Gina muttered to her sister, the two of them perusing the food that their mother had prepared.

"It's a wedding, not a lunch at Nona's." Barba's voice caught them off guard and the two of them turned to face him. "If I were you, I'd be more concerned about being able to fit into your dresses than what you will undoubtedly be stuffing in your mouth like barbarians at the reception."

Ah yes, that was a knockout. With a satisfied smirk on his face, he wandered over towards the cake, leaving Morgan to her girlfriends now that he had effectively defeated the two evil trolls.

With a small paper plate in her hand containing cake, Morgan turned to face the yard and looked around, taking in the sight of it once again. She couldn't believe this was all for her and that everyone who had shown up was here _for_ her. She would never admit it out loud but she was sort of glad her mother was here. It would've been nicer if she had just kept her mouth shut, but hey, Morgan couldn't win them all.

"So, I'm guessing you turned out as well as you did because of someone other than your own mother." Sonny's mother teased, coming to stand next to her, but Morgan could tell she was asking a serious question.

"In _spite_ of my own mom, I definitely didn't want to be like her but yeah Riley's mom helped." Morgan offered up. "She probably bandaged up more skinned knees than my mom, and she definitely helped with my first heartbreak, whereas my mother told me that 'high school boys weren't worth my time'."

"Yes, Audrey seems like a wonderful woman."

"She drove all the way here from Boston for me." Morgan stated.

"That's what mother's do."

"But she's not _my_ mom." Morgan argued.

"Sometimes, that doesn't matter." Sonny's mother said with a smile. "I'd drive from Boston for you too."

Morgan felt her cheeks reddening at the comment. Her own mother had barely made it to the shower, yet here was Sonny's mom saying she'd drive from Boston, granted it wasn't a huge drive, to be at her bridal shower. Was this what it felt like to have a mom who actually cared? A mom who actually loved her?

"My son is lucky to have you." She whispered and Morgan could only nod her head. She was lucky to have him too. "Go, enjoy your party. One of my daughter's is actually excited to be here."

"Bella." Morgan nodded her head with a smirk.

"She was maybe a little misguided before, but I think she's come around to you."

Sonny's mom flashed her a smile and wandered over to her other two daughters. Morgan watched for a second as she seemed to scold them, but she was soon interrupted by Amanda and Riley, each girl taking up a stance on either of Morgan's sides.

"For what it's worth, I definitely liked the added drama of the crazy Carisi sisters." Riley teased.

"Whose idea was it to bring Barba?" Amanda quipped. "Not that I'm complaining, it's like a shower _and_ a show."

Morgan let out a laugh and nudged her SVU partner. Riley slipped her arm around her middle and hugged her tight, hoping that even with the snide remarks of Sonny's sisters, and her own mother, that the bridal shower was a success.

The three of them were quiet, simply watching, and when Barba's voice carried across the yard with 'I was hoping for a battle of wits but it would be wrong to attack someone who's totally unarmed', Morgan knew it was definitely a good party.

Oh it was a good party indeed.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Oh Mo, we must do dinner before I head back to Boston." Audrey cooed as she gathered her things and got ready to leave with Riley.

"How long are you staying?" Morgan questioned, glancing over her shoulder at the last remaining party guests behind her which were Gina, Theresa and Charlotte. Sonny's mother was in the kitchen cleaning up, Amanda had left earlier to get home to her girls, Bella and Barba had taken off shortly after Amanda and now Riley and her mom were leaving.

"A couple of days. I'd love to treat my two girls, you two can figure out a place, yeah?" Audrey looked between Riley and Morgan.

"Sure thing." Morgan grinned.

"Perfect. Now, if you'll excuse us, I've got my daughter's boyfriend to meet."

"Jesus mom, it's not a big deal." Riley whined.

"It is when I can't think of one other boyfriend, other than that tool in high school, that you've let me meet."

"Peter's a great guy." Morgan grinned.

"That's what I've heard, I _have_ spoken to him over the video phone call once but that was a long time ago. I'm pretty surprised he's still around, Riley never did hang on to men for that long."

"Mom!" Riley barked. "Okay, we're leaving now."

"I'll see you for dinner soon!"

Morgan laughed as Riley physically shoved her mother out the front door. She couldn't help but love the Prescotts, they were too good to her. She loved Riley, had for years, and her mother had always been there when she needed someone to talk to, someone who would actually listen to her and not just brush her off.

Yes, Audrey Prescott was that woman.

Morgan kept her eyes on the driveway and when Audrey's car pulled out onto the street, she smiled at the approaching vehicle holding her very fiancé. Ah yes, this would be great, she could show him all the wonderful gifts that she had gotten, and then tell him that she was pretty sure she was going to use the spa gift certificate with his mom.

Poor guy.

Sonny parked and hopped out, jogging up to the front step and enveloping Morgan into a hug, pushing her into the house. He let go of her but took her hand, leading her into the kitchen where he began to pick over the leftover food that had yet to be put away.

"Do I get to have one of these fancy parties?" Sonny cracked. "Like a groom shower?"

"I'll give you a groom shower when we get home." Morgan whispered into his ear and he turned to meet her, kissing her quickly on the lips.

"I just want presents too you know."

"Morgan is the best present you could ask for." His mom stated, shooting her a smirk. "What more could you possibly need?"

"Alright ma, you're right."

"There's cake outside though." Morgan tossed out and felt her arm jerk as he pulled her towards the back door, leading her outside. Gina and Theresa's eyes fell on him immediately and when Morgan hit the ground with her feet, her mother locked her eyes on the two of them. Uh oh, this wasn't going to be good.

"Well hello Dominick, it's so nice to see you again." Charlotte purred and Morgan glared at her mother, wanting her to back off of him. She hadn't liked the idea of her marrying him when he was a cop but now that he was an ADA, it was as if she was set for life. "I'm so glad you're marrying my daughter. You'll be able to take care of her."

"Take care of her? Nah, she does that on her own." Sonny countered. "And please call me Sonny."

"Dominick's your given name." Charlotte countered, as if it was self explanatory.

"Well Sonny was given to me too." Sonny pointed out.

"What is your plan for after you two are married anyways?" Charlotte pressed, trying to ignore his comment. "Morgan's going to be at home looking after things I assume?"

Morgan scowled and Sonny gripped her hand tighter, knowing she wasn't entirely happy that her mother was here, let alone talking to her like she was some 1930s housewife who did nothing more than dote on her husband and children.

"She's set up pretty good at the SVU, so long as she wants to be there, I'm down."

Morgan pressed her lips together and tried not to smile. Sonny was almost as good as having Barba around when it came to her mother. He was holding his own and she was appreciative of it. This was turning out to be quite an entertaining day after all.

"That's not…she should be your wife."

"She will be. She can do that and be a detective too, I'm not hard to please."

Charlotte cocked her head sideways and stared at him, wondering what the hell he was trying to pull. In all honesty, he wasn't trying to pull anything, he loved Morgan for who she was, not what she was supposed to be. Her mother had everything backwards. Morgan was entitled to a career, a life of her own, she didn't have to dote on him, in fact, he would never let her give up something she loved just because her mother thought that's how women were supposed to act.

"Right. Well, congratulations you two." Charlotte said curtly. "I think I'll be going now. I hope we have another chance to see each other again soon."

"Yeah mom, at the wedding." Morgan snorted.

Charlotte didn't bother fighting back this time, instead, she tipped her chin up and strode off, leaving the two of them behind her. Morgan watched her go and when she was inside the house and outside of her field of vision, she blew out a sigh and hugged Sonny tight, resting her head against his shoulder.

"You have fun?" Sonny asked with a laugh.

"I had Barba." Morgan half answered. "And Riley, so I mean, it was kind of a disaster at points but also entertaining."

"Get anything good?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She purred and led him over to the cake. He sliced himself a hefty piece, flopped it onto a paper plate and grabbed a fork off the table too. When he speared it, he nearly jumped out of his skin as his sisters called out for him.

Morgan didn't move an inch and neither did Sonny, instead forcing them to come over to them. When they did, Gina gave him an awkward half hug seeing as Morgan didn't relax her grip on him. Theresa crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Sonny.

"You can't seriously tell me that Barba guy is in the wedding Sonny." Theresa barked.

"He's one of my groomsmen."

"But Sonny, he's…he's gay."

"Oh my god, what, he's gay?" Sonny feigned shock, overdramatically too. "I had no idea, all this time he was kissing guys and I thought he was just giving them mouth to mouth, how could I have been so blind."

"Sonny, I'm serious." Theresa growled.

"It's my wedding, not yours, what difference does it make?"

"He's…he's living in sin."

"Technically so are you." Morgan piped up, Theresa curling her lip at Morgan. "I'm just pointing it out. You're divorced, that's not good in God's books."

"Sonny." Theresa sniped. "You're going to let her talk to me like that?"

He considered her words for a split second, humouring her more than anything. Slowly and surely, he nodded his head, Morgan relaxing against him, knowing that he was on her side. She hadn't doubted him, but he hadn't been there for the dress shopping events to witness how truly awful his sisters were towards her.

"She's a grown woman, she can talk to you however she wants." Sonny stated.

"Oh my god." Theresa threw her head back and turned on her heel, pausing only to shoot Morgan a death glare.

Morgan's eyes were locked on Theresa as she grabbed Gina by the wrist and dragged her away, the two of them disappearing into the house and leaving Morgan alone with Sonny in the backyard. She let out a soft sigh of relief, finally feeling her body calming down now that the party was over.

It had been tense, good but tense. She was glad she could finally be herself again and not worry about her mother judging her, or his sisters making snarky comments about her.

"I'm going to gather up my presents, then we can go home." Morgan suggested but he didn't let go of her hand. She looked at him, confusion evident on her face.

"Sorry about my family." He apologized and she waved a hand at him, dismissing it.

"My mom's worse than them anyways, at this point, I don't even care. As long as it's you and me on our wedding day, that's all that matters."

"We could elope."

"And miss out on more snide remarks from your sisters and have my mom express how disappointed in me she is because I don't want to be a housewife, no way."

Sonny pressed a quick kiss to the side of her head and said a silent prayer to god to protect Morgan from his family, and hers.

He wasn't going to let anything happen to her, but he knew he wasn't always going to be around her to do that. He just hoped that her spirit would remain unbroken because he loved Morgan the way she was, no matter what.


	18. Chapter 18

"Your apartment is so cute." Audrey remarked and Riley shook her head with a smile. It was the hundredth time she had said that since they had arrived at her apartment after Morgan's bridal shower and Riley was almost sick of hearing it.

"Mom, I'm not going to be living here much longer." Riley said, repeating what she had said the other times her mom had commented on her place.

"Right, right." Audrey waved a dismissive hand in the air. "You're going to be moving into a house with your boyfriend, whom I've yet to meet."

"He's coming soon." Riley rolled her eyes and headed into the kitchen. Tonight's dinner was going to be simple because she had no real desire to cook a full-blown food selection, not after all the baking she had done for Morgan's shower. Sliders and fries, with a salad on the side, that's what they were having, and as soon as Riley could get the fries onto a tray, they'd be going into the oven. "In the meantime, sit, have some wine or something."

Audrey did as she was instructed and sat at the table, watching as Riley ripped open the bag of frozen fries and spread them out onto the cookie sheet. She then shoved them inside the oven, set the timer and made quick work of getting out a square grill pan from the drawer below the oven.

Minutes later, she had the fries flipped to cook on the other side and half of the dozen sliders were grilled up and resting in a glass baking dish with tin foil over the top to keep them warm. Before she had a chance to get the other half of the sliders into the pan, there was a knock on the door and Riley leveled her mother with a glare before taking off for it, ripping it open to find Peter standing there, a single pink rose in his hands.

"Uh?" Riley's eyes fell on the flower and he let out a laugh.

"Not for you." He shook his head and she scoffed.

"I don't know if I should be offended or not. You've never brought me a flower."

"I never really had to impress you now did I?" He countered with a smirk and she waved him inside, closing the door behind him. He paused and looked at her, easily sensing her anxiety over this whole dinner but he wasn't sure why.

He was a respectable man and he knew how to act around parents. Maybe it wasn't about him though, maybe she was afraid for what he might learn from her mother tonight, maybe there were things that she didn't want _him_ to know.

Well that was a tad bit hard to believe. There wasn't a lot left for her to tell him, especially not since she had a full-blown panic attack the very first time she spent the night with him. He had grown accustomed to her anxiety, even knew when it would be a real big problem, so what was it about tonight that had her on edge?

"You don't really have to impress her, I make my own choices." Riley murmured and let him take off his jacket, holding the rose as he did so as not to ruin it. Once his jacket was hung on the rack, she handed him back the flower and led him into the kitchen, only to find her mother working at the stove, grilling up the rest of the sliders. "Mom, this is Peter."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He spoke firmly and held the rose out for her. Audrey smiled at him, took the flower and handed Riley the tongs that she had been using for the sliders.

"You are a handsome one, aren't you?" Audrey cooed, Riley was quick to pull a taller glass out of the cabinet, fill it halfway with water and set it on the counter for the rose. Audrey gently put the rose into the water and offered Peter her hand. "Audrey Prescott."

"Peter Stone."

"My boyfriend." Riley threw in, almost as an afterthought. "He's a district attorney."

"Oh like that fiancé of Morgan's?" Audrey questioned, finally pulling her hand away.

"Actually he's the ADA, Peter's just the DA, technically Sonny works _for_ him." Riley explained and moved to flip the patties as the oven timer went off.

"Is that right?" Audrey quipped and ignored Riley as she wandered over to the kitchen table with Peter, who tossed Riley a look.

He kept stealing glances at her as she fished the tray out of the oven and dumped the fries into a wide serving bowl before wandering over and setting them on the table.

She then went right back to the stove, working away at getting the last of the patties cooked, all the while setting the slider buns onto the cookie sheet that had just come out of the oven. Without hesitating, the buns went in the oven and she freed the patties from the pan, tossing them in with the other ones before setting them on the table too.

"How'd you two meet?" Audrey asked, her sole focus on Peter, who was stealing looks at Riley every few seconds, making sure she was good handling all the food.

"Morgan." Riley threw out.

"Through Morgan." Peter added, figuring she didn't want to mention that she had gone home with him the first time they had laid eyes on each other. Was that why she was so anxious? She didn't want her mother to find out how easily he had gotten her into bed? "Morgan had cracked her first case and we were all out to celebrate."

"Oh so you knew Mo first." Audrey nodded. "I was going to say, I wondered where my daughter would've ever picked up an attorney."

"Mom I've dated lawyers before."

"Not that I've ever met." Audrey pointed out, fixing Riley with a small glare. "You say you date all these men and never once introduce them to me."

"That's not true, I brought Joey McCain home."

"Ninth grade hardly counts Ry."

"What about…Dante Calhoun?"

"Wasn't he your prom date who left you there?" Audrey shot back and Peter couldn't help but let out a laugh at that. He didn't think it was funny that she had been ditched at prom, just that her mother knew enough to call her out on saying that guy was a boyfriend. "Not that I don't love you Ry, but you're pretty terrible at relationships."

"I'd respectfully disagree." Peter cut in, but both girls could tell by his grin that he was merely teasing.

"Why would you want my daughter?" Audrey questioned. "Not that there's anything wrong with her-"

"Jesus mom." Riley gaped, angrily pulling the buns out of the oven and setting them on a plate. She then headed over and joined the two of them at the table, everything else had been set out earlier. When she sat down, she felt Peter's hand on her knee and her body relaxed ever so slightly at his touch. "I love Peter."

"And I love your daughter."

"So I've heard. You even bought a house together." Audrey stated. "Honestly figured her and Mo would just be old lonely ladies for the rest of their lives, so it's sort of nice to know that my girl bagged a successful attorney who's as handsome as you."

"I can see where you get your boldness from." Peter turned his attention to Riley and she could only blink at him. God what the hell was wrong with her mother?

"Temper's from her dad though."

"Seriously, can we _not_ talk about him?" Riley groaned.

"He left me when she was twelve, never had much to do with her after that. He got himself a brand-new family-"

"Mom." Riley kicked at her shin under the table, but only managed to jerk the entire table instead.

"I often wondered if that was why she had such an aversion to serious relationships."

"My dad wasn't around that much when I was a kid either." Peter said softly, trying to reign Riley back in. He didn't want her to feel like she had anything to be embarrassed about, he just wanted her to have a nice, calm, relaxing evening. Nothing that happened tonight would change how he felt about her. "That's actually why I came back to New York, he passed away a few years ago and when I was here for the funeral, I was offered a job."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear about your father." Audrey had enough decency to bow her head, giving Riley a split second to look at Peter, who was smiling at her, trying to convey with words that she had nothing to be worried about. Riley let out a sigh and tried to relax into her chair, waving her hand at the food on the table.

"I know it's not much but I just baked so much stuff for Mo…" Riley offered.

"It's fine." Peter replied.

The three of them took a few quiet minutes to dole out portions and prepare their sliders and once everyone had a plateful of food, her mom was quick to dive back into the awkward conversation side of things.

"Riley, does he know about your lady issues?" Audrey hissed at Riley but she wasn't very quiet, not even a little bit.

"Yeah mom. And if he didn't, he does now."

"Well I just want to make sure he knows. Some men are adamant about having kids that biologically belong to them."

"I love her no matter what." Peter threw in. "Even if we have to adopt."

"Sweetheart, you've found yourself a keeper." Audrey grinned. "Please tell me you're a Yankees fan?"

Peter let out a laugh and looked from Riley to Audrey. He was definitely a Yankees fan, especially after spending over a year being exclusive with Riley. She wouldn't have kept him around if he wasn't.

"I am. I actually used to pitch for the Cubs."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I wrecked my shoulder though and never made it back. So I became a lawyer."

"You ever play the Yankees?"

Peter contemplated her question for a few seconds but offered up a shrug, "no, Mets though."

"That's too bad, if you had, Riley was probably there. Her and her dad used to go all the time. They'd have giveaway days and the two of them would line up like four hours before they could even get into the stadium." Audrey said. "She'd come home so excited and so exhausted because we're talking it'd be a good eight-hour long day at the ballpark."

Peter glanced at Riley, only to find her staring intently at her slider. She wasn't embarrassed by what she had done, she was merely saddened at the fact that there were so many good memories of her and her father, yet now all she ever felt was anger at the mere mention of the man. She hated that he had tainted her outlook on dads, and to hear her mom talk so casually about the man who had ripped their family apart bothered her.

"I love free things." Riley muttered, her voice held very little conviction. "Even if it meant standing next to an asshole for hours on end."

"He wasn't always an asshole."

"No." She shook her head but didn't say anything further. Grabbing her slider, she lifted it up and took a bite, almost daring her mother to push her some more.

"So I hear you're living in Boston." Peter offered, hoping to get the whole evening back on track.

"I moved out there once Riley was back in New York ironically enough. She went out there for college and I'd go visit her more often than I probably should've and I just fell in love with the city."

"Fortunately, not the Red Sox." Riley remarked, forcing a smile onto her face.

Playful banter and lighter conversation followed through dinner and Riley was visibly relaxing now that all the father talk was out of the way. Once the table was clear, thanks to her and her mom, she laid out a cake she had baked as well as plates, forks and a knife.

"My Riley was always a good baker." Audrey grinned, watching as Peter cut the cake for them, doling out slices onto plates. Riley wandered away from the table and came back over with three mugs of coffee, milk and sugar had been on the table from earlier. "Mo though, she couldn't bake a cake if her life depended on it."

"Thank god she had Riley then."

"Thank god they had each other." Audrey chuckled. "Mo's like a second daughter to me, poor girl had a vicious mother who cared more about appearances than raising a decent human being. Riley protected her from the day they met and Morgan was always there for Riley."

"They're very close, I definitely respect Morgan. She's a great detective and her fiancé is a great attorney." Peter commented. "He's definitely a first-rate addition to my team."

"Hey speaking of Morgan's fiancé, you and him should come out to dinner with us tomorrow night. Riley, tell Mo she should ask that Sonny fellow of hers. It's still my treat, but I really want to meet him."

"Yeah." Riley nodded, knowing that that way the attention wouldn't be solely focused on her and Peter, much like it was tonight. "I'll text her after."

"Peter, you'll come, won't you?"

"Of course."

Riley let out a sigh of relief and pushed her chair back, excusing herself. Peter looked at her with concern but she threw a smile onto her face and waved him off, disappearing from the kitchen faster than anyone could say 'boo'. Peter looked across the table at Audrey and found her studying him, almost curious about him being in the apartment.

Was she sizing him up? Was she trying to find a flaw in him so that she could tell Riley all about it and how he was no good for her? Was she-

"I think you're good for Ry." Audrey stated in a low one, breaking Peter out of his thoughts.

"She's good for me too." Peter nodded and sucked in a breath. "Can I ask you something?"

"Certainly."

"I want to ask her to marry me." Peter paused, and Audrey was clearly hanging on his every word. "But only if you approve."

"That's a decision for Riley, but I'll definitely give you this: I like you Peter Stone."

He leaned back against the back of his chair and set his hands on the table, a smile taking up residence on his face. Audrey smiled back at him and not another word was said between the two of them, not until Riley walked back into the kitchen, her gaze going from one to the other.

"Mom…" Riley trailed off and she reached a hand out, setting it on Peter's wrist. "Thanks for not leaving like dad."

"Well someone had to look after you." Audrey laughed, but when she peered over at Riley, she stopped and took a more serious stance. "You're my baby girl, and I will _always_ be there for you."

"Still."

"I'm just glad to see that you've found yourself a wonderful man like Peter here, it makes me worry a lot less about all the trouble you could get yourself into."

Riley smirked at her mother. She could get into enough trouble with Peter just fine on her own.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

She held Peter's hand as she walked with him to the sidewalk outside of the apartment. She had wanted just a few minutes alone with him, if only to gauge his reaction to meeting her mother, but overall, she knew he wasn't deterred. There were worse things in her past that he knew about that could've sent him packing, but he hadn't yet, she couldn't imagine a single dinner with her mother, who wasn't even that bad, would drive him away.

"You really don't have to come to dinner tomorrow night if you don't want to." She stated, leaning against the wall outside the front entrance. He stood in front of her with his hands tucked into his jacket, looking back at her. "Don't feel like she guilted you into it or anything."

"It's fine." Peter nodded, watching as she dropped her gaze down to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you not _want_ me to go?"

"What?" Her head jerked up and she locked her eyes on his. "No, I mean, I don't care, I just don't want you to feel obligated."

"Riley you're never an obligation." Peter said softly and untucked one of his hands, reaching out with it to take hers. "I'll go because I want to go."

Riley took her bottom lip in between her teeth and forced a small, hesitant smile in his direction. She wasn't sure what was bothering her, most likely a mixture of all sorts of things. She was supposed to be moving soon, but they hadn't bought a bed yet, nor had they even remotely thought about painting.

It was all so overwhelming at times, and now to add a dinner with her mother into the mix, she wasn't sure what had pushed her over the edge, but she knew that she'd be glad when it was all over.

"Come here first so we can all go together?" She requested and he stepped forward, moving to lean against the wall beside her, his hand moving away from hers so that his arm could slide around her shoulders.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I don't know." She breathed the words out. Well that wasn't what Peter was expecting. He was figuring she'd say she was fine, or insist that nothing was wrong, but that wasn't even remotely close to what she had said.

"Well is there something I can do?"

"Do you know any sassy gay lawyers that I can be friends with?" She countered and he nudged her with his hand, drawing her eyes up towards is.

"What?"

"Well Morgan has that Barba guy now." Riley sighed. "And I guess I'm just used to being her sassy bitchy friend and now I don't feel like she needs me."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about." Peter let out a chuckle and Riley leaned against his side, resting her head on his shoulder. "You've known her a lot longer than Barba, he's just like a new shiny toy to Morgan, she's excited by him. That excitement will wear off and she'll go back to her favourite toy, the toy that's always been there for her."

"You just compared me to a toy." She deadpanned.

"You can be _my_ toy anytime you want." He purred.

"Except tonight. Stupid mom being a stupid cock-block." Riley muttered but when he laughed at her, she found herself genuinely smiling for the first time in over an hour. "I can't wait until we have our own house all ready so I get to sleep with you every night."

"Imagine all the fun little quirks we'll get to learn about each other in the process."

Riley let out a bark of laughter and peeled herself away from him, grinning at his statement. She was excited for that too, but also a little nervous. It didn't matter though, Peter was the one for her, no matter what stupid bad habits he might have, and she figured he felt much the same about her.

"You'll have to learn to leave the seat down." Riley pointed out, patting him on the chest.

"You could learn to make sure it's down before you sit on it." He teased.

"I mean, if you want to continue to have a nice sex life, you should probably just put it down." She scowled jokingly. "I also like to keep extra stock of food and pantry items, so we'll have to get you familiar with my methods."

"Dually noted."

"Anything hiding in your closet I should know about now?" She pressed and cocked her head sideways. He shook his head no and reached out, grabbing her one arm and hauling her forward, wrapping his arms around her as she gently collided with him. "You're not like a secret hoarder or-"

"Nope." He rested his chin on the top of her head and she let out a soft sigh of content, happy to just stand there in his embrace.

"Hmm, okay."

He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and pulled himself away, but not letting go of her hand. She sucked in a breath and glanced back to the entrance of the apartment, but when he gave her hand a squeeze, she focused back on him.

"We haven't seen the Yankees in a while," Peter started and she furrowed her eyebrows at him, "your mom, when she was talking about how you used to go to the giveaway days with your dad, I just thought maybe we could do that sometime."

"You want to go stand in a line outside Yankees stadium for hours on end for some free baseball memorabilia?" She questioned.

"Yeah, why not?"

"I haven't done that in years."

"Okay, so, do you want to?"

Riley took a few seconds to consider her answer, but she knew what she was going to say before she even had to think about it, "I'd love to."

"Great, so you pick a game with a giveaway and let me know."

"I will do that." She nodded with another smile. "Not to be rude but you should go before I start to feel like I could do bad things to you in the alley. Oh and let me know when you get home?"

Peter shook his head at her but offered her up a grin, waving at her as he peeled off, wandering down the street further to hail a cab. She watched him for a few more seconds before heading back into the building, wandering through the halls until she was at her own door.

Hesitating for a second, she sucked in a breath and opened the door, spotting her mother sitting on the couch watching television, but as soon as Riley wandered in, Audrey looked right at her and smiled.

"I like him." Audrey stated and Riley rolled her eyes, throwing the lock on the door to secure it shut. She then wandered over and flopped down onto the couch next to her mom, curling up against her side. "He seems good for you."

"I think he is." Riley gave a brief nod. "I have to tell you something though."

"Oh god, what's wrong with him?" Audrey threw her head back dramatically but Riley gave her mom's knee a rough pat, drawing her attention back to her. "What?"

"We've been trying to get pregnant for a few months now."

"Before marriage?"

"Yes mom."

"Well you should just be glad I'm not catholic or else that'd give me a heart attack." Audrey teased. "Ry, you're a grown woman, you can do whatever you want."

"Right, but I still thought you should know. Obviously things haven't been successful or I'd be telling you a whole other set of news right now." Riley explained. "But I definitely want kids and Peter's on board with it."

"Huh well…I can't really say anything bad about him because I really like him Ry, he's a good man. _And_ he's a lawyer."

"Yeah so if I get in to trouble, he can get me out of it."

"I think you mean 'when'." Audrey grinned.

"What?"

" _When_ you get into trouble." Audrey nudged her in the shoulder with her fist and Riley let out a low, unenthusiastic huff. "I'm just glad you've found a man to settle down with. There were a few years there when I worried about you, a _lot_."

Riley curled into her mother's side further and let out a soft sigh, "yeah, I know."

"So you want to tell me how you two really started dating?" Audrey pressed and Riley's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Oh I believe that you met through Morgan but this is the first guy you've ever introduced me too, I want all the details Ry."

"Okay, well you're not getting _all_ the details. But I guess I can tell you more than just 'through Morgan'." Riley confessed and sat up straight, looking at her mother. "It all started with a dare…"

And boy was Riley glad she didn't lose. Peter Stone was the best prize ever.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Mom," Riley poked at her mom, her voice a whisper, "mom, you have to call him Dominick when they get here. He hates it."

"Then why would I call him that?" Audrey shot back, grabbing the cloth napkin off the restaurant table and draping it over her lap.

"Because that's what Mo's mom calls him, right because she refuses to call people by anything other than the name they were given." Riley explained and Peter shot her a look. She raised her eyebrows at him and sat back in her chair, wondering if maybe she was getting too old for silly little games like this. Then again, it was always fun to screw with Morgan.

"She refuses to call people…really?" Peter asked, an astounded look on his face.

"Yeah, her name's Charlotte and I've called her Charlie for as long as I can remember just to piss her off." Riley stated. "Even as a kid."

"Where would you have gotten that idea?" Peter countered and Riley tossed a look at her mother.

"She was a bad influence on me when I was a kid. Got me to be a little shit with Mo's mom and my very own dad, when he showed up of course." Riley offered up. "My mom was pretty devious back in the day."

"I can neither confirm nor deny that. Part of me gets Charlotte's point about names but nicknames are too adorable sometimes, and much simpler to deal with." Audrey gave a shake of her head. "Formality was never one of my strong suits and how can you expect me not to call a pair of little girls Mo and Ry, too cute, right?"

"Hey," Riley raised her one hand and both of them were looking at her, waiting for her to carry on, "it's just funny…I call you Peter, not Petey or Pete, but that has nothing to do with me being remotely like Charlie."

"Sometimes nicknames aren't as cute as the real name. Like to me Petey sounds like a toddler." Audrey piped up. "And Pete sounds like a wasted frat boy."

"Like you would know about wasted frat boys." Riley scoffed.

"Well you certainly would." Audrey grinned and Riley pressed her lips together. Fair enough, that was definitely a point for Audrey, but Riley wasn't deterred. Sure, she had known her fair share of frat boys back in the day, but even then, she wasn't as promiscuous as she had been before Peter.

In fact, it was in university that she had her last serious boyfriend, and that hadn't turned out very well. Indeed though, Riley had always known where the good parties were being held at M.I.T. but that didn't mean she went, in fact, most of the time she was too busy studying or doing assignments.

She _was_ a smart girl after all, it was just a shame she had managed to get herself a bit of a reputation, a reputation so bad that even her mom was aware of it (though not to the full extent). Riley was sure Morgan expressed concern to her mother more than once when it came to her hooking up with guys, but it wasn't like either of them could do a whole lot about it.

"I shouldn't be so harsh on Riley, she did graduate from engineering with honours." Audrey added quickly, giving her daughter a proud smile. "At least she got my brains."

"And your good looks." Peter flirted and Riley smacked him on the arm, drawing his attention back to her. "Stating facts Riley."

"You can turn off the lawyer schmoozy act." Riley scoffed. "I'm your girlfriend, and it's gross to see you be all cutey patootie with my _mom_."

"Oh hush now girl, it's not every day your mother gets told she's pretty by a very attractive man." Audrey scolded.

"My sincerest apologizes Audrey but Riley is the girl for me." Peter smiled and took Riley's hand under the table. She smiled back at him and spotted two familiar faces crossing the restaurant and coming towards them.

Riley leaned over and gave Peter a quick peck on the cheek before settling back into her chair and throwing a wave to Morgan, who was leading Sonny to the table by his arm. He was dressed up in one of his usual three-piece suits, matching Morgan's sleek cocktail dress that looked like something out of Riley's- it _was_ out of Riley's closet!

Had Morgan nabbed it when she moved out? Oh well, it didn't really matter. Riley had enough fancy outfits that she'd be fine for a while, in fact, tonight she was wearing a nice, rather conservative top, and a tight black skirt, Peter in one of his suits, though not a three-piece one.

"Hey Auds." Morgan called out and let Sonny pull the chair out next to Audrey, Morgan dropping down to sit on it as he gingerly pushed it in closer to the table. Once Morgan was securely in her seat, he offered his hand to Audrey and smiled widely at the older woman.

"I'm Dominick Carisi but please call me Sonny."

Audrey took his hand in hers and gave it a firm shake, "Audrey Prescott."

"She's like my second mom." Morgan tossed out. "Way nicer than that witch that _is_ my mother."

"Oh, well, it's not like she could be any worse." Riley threw out.

"Pleasure to meet you Dominick." Audrey said, tossing her own daughter a look, to which Riley just nodded her appreciation. Perfect, her mother _was_ going to play along with her idea of a joke.

"Sonny, please."

"But that's not your given name." Audrey pushed and Morgan's eyes widened for a split second, which was exactly when Audrey let out a small bout of laughter, reassuring the girl in question that she was merely playing a game. "Sorry, I couldn't resist after seeing Charlotte yesterday. It's nice to meet you Sonny. Now, let's get you two some drinks, yeah?"

Audrey was quick to wave the waiter over and let Sonny and Morgan request their drinks of choice, a beer for Sonny and a glass of wine for Morgan. When the waiter was gone, Audrey looked between the two newest table members and nodded her approval. She was proud of both of her girls for landing such fine young men, and it would seem they were both very, _very_ happy, which was always good.

She was proud of the two of them, even if Morgan wasn't her own child, it didn't matter. She had spent enough time at the Prescott house for Audrey to consider her part of the family. She looked after her more often than her real mother did, she talked to her when she needed someone to talk to, she bandaged her up when she hurt herself, she listened when Morgan needed an ear- it was the same way she treated Riley, except Riley got to be tucked in at night by Audrey.

Riley was fed and bathed and generally looked after more hours than Morgan. It didn't matter to Audrey though, she loved Morgan as if she was her own daughter, and she was proud of the woman that she had become, her and Riley both.

"So how did you two meet?" Audrey asked, her eyes locked on Morgan. She had asked this very question to her biological daughter the night before, and now she wanted to know Morgan's story.

"When I transferred to SVU he was my first partner." Morgan answered easily. So far the interrogation hadn't really even begun, but Morgan felt great, she had aced the first question, she was on a roll. She just hoped that the rest of Audrey's questions were as easy.

"Oh, and once you started seeing each other, how was work then? I can't imagine working with your significant other was easy."

"Huh." Morgan got stuck on her answer but knew that honesty was probably the best. "Well we pretty much had to find other partners but it was fine because our whole unit was great."

"And now?" Audrey was relentless, but Morgan knew that about her. She had grown up with Riley, had known her mother from a young age and was aware that Audrey liked to get right to it, wanting to make sure that Morgan was in good hands.

"He's an ADA, so we're definitely not partners anymore, I still see him at work every so often, but not every day." Morgan smirked, looking over in Sonny's direction. "Thank god, I can't imagine living with him _and_ working with him, that's too much Sonny."

"At least he works." Audrey teased, referring to her own ex-husband, who hadn't worked very hard, or very often, throughout their entire marriage. "And an ADA to boot, my god you have just lucked out with men, the two of you."

"I win, I have a DA." Riley boasted and Morgan was quick to stick her tongue out at her, laughing as she did so. "I do."

"You don't do losing very well do you?" Morgan argued.

"She never did." Audrey snickered. "I love her for it though, thank god she didn't inherit her dad's work ethic, lazy asshole he was."

Riley straightened up in pride. No she was not a fan of her father's work ethic, and she had always been adamant that she wouldn't turn out like him, which was why it bothered her so much that she inherited his temper. She was better at controlling it now that she was older but sometimes it still managed to best her, and those were not pretty sights.

"How was the shower yesterday?" Peter threw out, trying not to let the conversation turn too deep into Riley's past. He had witnessed it last night and hadn't liked the way Riley seemed to be ashamed of it.

Morgan's eyes lit up and she opened her mouth to answer, but Audrey cut in, rendering her speechless.

"Ah yes, speaking of the shower, who was that Barba man really?" Audrey pressed. "And why was he even at the shower, not that I'm complaining, he was highly entertaining, I just didn't expect a man to be at a shower full of girls."

"Ha, shower full of girls is exactly where a man would want to be." Riley chuckled, Audrey shooting her a grin.

"He's one of my best friends, I'd consider him family even. He's going to be a groomsman in our wedding" Sonny answered quickly.

"He's also a sarcastic ass who loves getting on people's nerves. I needed him at the shower so that I could have someone to sic on Sonny's sisters." Morgan threw in. "He's great. Definitely my back-up husband, you know, for when this one is too busy being a fancy shmancy lawyer."

"How am I any fancier than Barba, he went to Harvard." Sonny retorted.

"Just how it goes Sonny Bunny."

"I don't think you're really his type, not unless you've magically grown a dick." Sonny said.

"They make toys for that." Morgan huffed.

"Mo, what about brother husbands?" Audrey tossed out and Riley rolled her eyes. "I watch sister wives and I've always thought having more than one husband would be nicer than having to share _one_ husband with a bunch of wives."

"I tried that, Rafi said sure but this guy said _no_." Morgan jerked a thumb in Sonny's direction.

"Sorry for not wanting to share my wife and anyways, I have a better chance of running off with Barba than you do."

"I don't get why you don't see the logic in this situation, it'd be a win-win for both of you. You'd get all the sex and Rafi would do all the stuff you wouldn't want to; like Broadway and shopping." Morgan shrugged. "I don't see the big deal."

"Two guys I can get behind but like Peter had two girls once, or so I've heard." Riley raised her hands in surrender and she tossed her boyfriend a minx-like grin. "And I don't get it, you know, like logistically, and mathematically it doesn't work out in my mind…"

Morgan's mouth widened and she stared at Peter, who casually took a sip from his glass of beer, "Mr. Stone explain yourself."

"Okay, as young and hip as I sometimes think I am, this is a conversation better had when mom's not at the table." Audrey spoke up, looking from one girl to the other, leveling them both with a motherly glare. Riley raised a hand in surrender and Morgan shook her head with a smirk.

Audrey knew how to get them to behave, and Morgan would always behave for Audrey, she loved the woman, maybe more than her own mother, and who could blame her?

"Geez Stone, no wonder you don't like the word 'slut', you are one." Sonny snickered, clearly ignoring Audrey's request to break it up.

Audrey shrugged them off though and rolled her eyes, having put up with this sort of thing from the girls in their younger years enough to be used to it. As long as they weren't discussing the logistics of threesomes, what more could Audrey really ask for?

"At least my girlfriend isn't talking about adopting the lifestyle of 'brother husbands'." Peter remarked, a small smirk present on his face.

"Sassy McLawyer-Pants!" Morgan's voice was borderline on shrieking but no one seemed all that concerned, except for Riley, who stared at her best friend in awe. What the hell was really happening here?

Morgan was definitely much more vocal than she usually was, was this Sonny's doing? Was she finally learning to stand up for herself without having someone there to back her?

Of course she could always handle herself, she had taken on a rapist on her own, gouged his eye so bad Riley figured he was permanently blinded, or close to it. Morgan could definitely take care of herself, in fact, she was sort of proud to witness her banter back and forth with Sonny in front of her very eyes.

"Well-"

"Sonny don't…he's the man who decides whether or not you have a job, just take the loss on this one." Morgan cut her fiancé off and gave him a patronizing pat on the thigh.

"I mean I wouldn't be opposed- no wait, I would be opposed. I don't _do_ sharing." Riley considered what she was saying and shuddered at the thought. Two men was way too much work, she liked having Peter and _just_ Peter. It was fine by her. "But like if that's what you want Mo, all the power to you, that's a lot of unnecessary pressure."

"Again, not if one is gay." Morgan argued.

The waiter reappeared at the edge of the table, asking if they were ready to order. Audrey was quick to say yes and put in her request for dinner, everyone else following suit. Once he was gone, a lull took over the table and no one really knew where to start off again. Leave it to Audrey though, the woman certainly didn't like long stretches of silence.

"So Mo, has your lovely fiancé met your dad yet?"

"Mo's dad's a surgeon." Riley explained in a hushed tone to Peter. "Obviously had to have a great job in order to pay for his wife's lifestyle."

"He has, just via video chat, but still." Morgan answered. "Dad's busy."

"Always was that man." Audrey let out a sigh. "Little girls need their daddies."

"Unless their daddies turn out to be assholes." Riley spat.

"Your dad wasn't always bad. Anyways Ry, you had me."

"My mom was subpar." Morgan snorted. "Thank god I had you too Auds."

"Will he be walking you down the aisle?" Audrey quipped. "Or will he be too busy to do that?"

Morgan nodded her head, "I think he'll be able to take some time off to walk his only child down the aisle. He was a busy dad, not a bad dad, plus what other option do I have."

"You could walk yourself down the aisle." Riley suggested.

"Which is how Riley's doing it when her big day comes." Audrey tipped her head towards Riley. "Peter have you met my ex-husband?"

Peter slowly shook his head no, "I've barely heard about him to be honest."

Riley sucked in an anxious breath but didn't feel like getting in to this whole thing tonight, and certainly not at dinner. She knew Peter was aware of what her dad had done to her, and he hadn't been a big fan of his father either, so in that regard, she figured he understood. But did that mean that Peter should meet the man? Should she have to introduce her boyfriend to the man that had been her dad for a reduced portion of her childhood?

"Just that he was a useless prick of a man." Riley muttered and tipped her head sideways.

"Ry." Audrey murmured and Riley shook her head. She didn't want to do this, she just wanted to enjoy dinner, and Audrey got that, boy did she ever get that. "So Mo, do you have your dress picked out?"

"I do." Morgan beamed. "I'll show you a picture later when my fiancé isn't sitting right next to me."

"She looks so pretty in it." Riley commented. "It's perfect."

"I'm so glad to hear that." Audrey smiled. "First dance song picked out yet?"

Morgan shook her head no. God, she hadn't gotten very far on wedding planning, especially not when it came to the details like that. She knew she had to sit down with Sonny and figure some of this stuff out but they rarely had more than a few hours together before it was time for bed, and Morgan wasn't ready to spend it planning a wedding that still seemed pretty far away.

She mentally reminded herself to make a list of this sort of thing because she wasn't going to pick their first dance song on her own, she wanted Sonny to be a part of it, and she figured he'd want to have a say too.

They were a team, they did things together, it wasn't always one person getting their way and the other not, they just meshed well. They fit. Sonny was her soulmate, and she wouldn't trade him for anything, even with as much as she joked about Rafael Barba.

"You've got time. As long as I'm invited." Audrey joked.

"Of course." Morgan blurted. "Front row seat too."

"Well, I'm just so glad you've found someone who will love you the way you deserve to be loved." Audrey praised. "Both of you girls."

Yes, this was what a mother should be like, this was what Morgan had missed out on as a child in her own home, but thank god for Audrey Prescott. She wouldn't have


	19. Chapter 19

Riley was tired, rightfully so. She had already worked a full day but it was either tonight her and Peter picked up paint or a few days from now when they were both free and Riley wanted to get on the house. They had already managed to pick out a bed and all she had to do was get the bedroom painted before it, as well as the matching dressers and night stands, were delivered to their house.

They had possession of it now and Riley was starting to get antsy about getting into it. She knew Peter was too, which meant that buying paint, and actually getting it on the walls, was a very important thing. That was the very reason she was at the courthouse, waiting for Peter to finish up, the two of them planning on grabbing dinner after buying some paint.

It sounded dull to her but she was excited. She wanted to get painting, she wanted to get their house ready for them to move in and honestly, any amount of time she got to spend with Peter was awesome, even if it was just to go to a paint store.

Sucking in a breath, she waited out in the hallway, knowing that she was going to be waiting for him for a few minutes. Sonny had informed her where he could be found and what he was doing, hence why she was waiting outside of the courtroom that he gave her.

She paced slightly, listening intently at the click clack of her heels, it wasn't until a low whistled echoed off the walls that she paid any attention to her surroundings.

Turning to where the noise had come from, she locked her eyes on Derek Delmonico, who looked way bigger than she remembered him looking at the bar, or even back in high school. He was huge, muscly huge, and his eyes sparkled with mischief.

Jesus Christ, like he couldn't just leave her alone?

"Hey Prescott." He called out to her and she threw her hand up into the air, shooting him the middle finger. Apparently, that didn't deter him though, he merely walked faster towards her, eliminating the distance between them. "I forgot to tell you the other night how sexy you looked."

"Fuck off Delmonico."

"Oh come on, no need to be like that."

"Totally a need to be like that." She argued, watching as he brought a hand up and pressed it against his heart, feigning hurt. "You should just walk away."

"I just want to catch up. You were one of the most sought-after girls in high school you know?"

Riley fought off the urge to snort at him. Yeah, okay, maybe she was pretty good-looking back then, but that didn't warrant him trying to get in her dress at prom, especially not after her date had abandoned her. Plus Morgan had made it blatantly obvious that he wasn't welcome near Riley, and he had walked funny for a week to remind her.

This was the very same guy who was being charged with rape, a case that Sonny was working. Everything about Derek Delmonico seemed alien and eerie. They had never been that close in high school, in fact, she was surprised he even remembered her name. Then again, her best friend had nearly twisted his balls off with her bare hands.

"I'm good." Riley forced the words out. "You really should be on your way."

Derek shrugged at her as if to say 'whatever' but before she knew it, he was even closer than before. Riley took a step back, trying desperately to put space between them but he matched her step for step until her back was pressed up against the wall. Shit, this wasn't what she had intended to do, in fact, this was the opposite of what she had intended to do.

He had her right where he wanted her and when his palm came to rest on her hip, she tensed and debated what her next move would be. Morgan wasn't going to be able to save her this time, but Riley wasn't a helpless little girl like Derek seemed to think she was. She could take care of herself, she just hoped she wouldn't have to.

"Last time I didn't get what I wanted from you, your little friend was there to stop me." Derek purred and his hand slid up her side higher and she pressed her lips together, still not sure how to handle him.

On one hand, she could fight him with everything she had and take off, going back to Peter's office to wait for him there, but she owed this man something, and she just had to play her cards right to get him back for prom all those years ago.

"Get your hands off me." She warned, her voice low and even. All he did was laugh in her face and lean in closer to her, so close that she could smell him; a sad mix of Axe and Old Spice. God some people never did grow up, did they? "Derek, I will not hesitate to break your fingers."

He licked his lip hungrily and moved his hand from her side to her neck, running his finger along her smooth skin. She tensed under his touch but didn't fight him, not yet. It wasn't until he rested his hand around her throat that she even recognized what he was trying to do. Well she wasn't about to let him.

"Prescott, you have no idea how long I've wanted you." Derek breathed, running his nose up the side of her face.

She grabbed hold of his shirt, fisting it in her hands before grinning at him. He was too busy trying to seduce her to notice the malicious smirk on her face.

Before he knew what was happening, she brought her knee up in between his legs as hard as she possibly could and sent him to the floor in a heap, the breath sucked right out of his lungs. She stood over him, watching as he curled into a fetal position, and planted her hands on her hips.

"Riley!"

She whipped her head to the side just in time to spot Peter jogging towards her, concern etched on his face. She tore her attention away from him and crouched down next to Derek Delmonico, roughly slapping her palm against his cheek.

"Next time you lay your hands on me, I'll cut your balls right off." Riley growled and slowly stood up, feeling Peter's hands on her arm, running down it to take hold of her hand.

She looked at him and let him study her, taking in the sight of her. She wasn't any worse for wear, yet there was a full-grown man curled into a ball on the floor at her feet. Okay, well if that didn't make him feel a little better about her being able to handle herself, he didn't know what would.

"Bitch." Derek managed to squeak and she let out a cackle at his lame attempt to get back at her with his words.

"What did he do?" Peter asked, glaring at the man on the floor. "Riley tell me-"

"I guess he never learned to keep his hands to himself." Riley snipped, glaring at the man on the floor. "Maybe next time he'll think twice."

"She…" Derek sucked in a breath and tried to ease the sharp, shooting pain in his groin, "kicked me."

"I kneed him." Riley corrected, an eerie calm to her voice. "I should've punched him in the throat."

Peter tugged on her arm and ripped her away from the fallen man, leading her back to his office. She jogged along behind him, trying to keep up with his quick strides and once they were securely in his office, his door locked behind them, she let out a huff and collapsed on the couch against the wall.

He was quick to sit beside her and when she leaned into his chest, he held her against him, whispering soothingly to her.

"I went years without thinking about him." Riley whimpered. "Years and now it's like I can't get away from him."

"Pretty soon he'll be in jail." Peter stated. "So long as Carisi does his job."

"And if he doesn't go to jail, for whatever reason?" Riley quipped, leaning her head back to get a better look at him. "Then what?"

"He walks free."

"So he'll just be able to come up to me on the street and threaten me again?" She growled. "How is that fair?"

"It's not, I can do my best to protect you."

"I can protect myself." She retorted, immediately regretting her tone. It wasn't like she didn't _want_ Peter to have to protect her, she just preferred to not have to rely on anyone. Wasn't that what relationships were for though, so she could lean on him when she needed him? She had no doubt he'd fight any battles she didn't have the energy to fight, but did that mean she was weak? Not in his words, not in his _eyes_. "But I will gladly let you protect me."

"I know you _can_ handle yourself." He pointed out with a small, reassuring smile. "It'd just be nice if you didn't have to."

"Yeah, well, it's a good thing my best friend is a cop then, she'll help me hide his body when I murder him."

"Hey no, you can't…we're going to get him okay, he's going to prison."

Riley sucked in a breath and hesitantly peeled herself out of his embrace. He looked into her eyes and gently lifted a hand up, setting it on the side of her neck, but she flinched at his touch and he pulled his hand back.

"Fucker threatened me." She confessed in a whisper. "He put his hand on my throat."

"I'm sorry."

She shrugged, "Derek Delmonico being a douchebag isn't your fault. Plus I think I kneed his balls so hard he won't be able to walk right for a while."

"As a lawyer, that probably wasn't the smartest decision." Peter reprimanded and she looked at him, eyes wide. "As your boyfriend, I wish I could've done it myself."

A grin took over her face and she leaned back into him, hugging him tight. She sucked in a breath, slowly got to her feet, forcing him to move with her, and took his hand.

"What do you say we go get some paint and some food, go to our new house and pretend this never even happened?"

"I can't do that." Peter shook his head.

"What? Why?" She stared at him, wondering what exactly his issue was with her-

"Honestly, you're really sexy right now."

Riley furrowed her eyebrows together but smiled at him, "that shit turns you on Peter?"

"Most of the things you do turn me on."

Well, buying paint was certainly going to be a lot more interesting.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Their bedroom was going to be a light gray, so light it bordered on white, but that was just fine by Riley. She knew Peter preferred neutral colours and he seemed to not be all that fond of dark colours. She didn't want their bedroom to feel like a dungeon anyways, so light grey had been their final choice.

The rest of the paint was pretty much soft neutral tones too, except her office was going to be a light lilac colour, which was something she had thought long and hard about.

Today was the day that Morgan and Sonny were coming over to help, Peter admitting that he had promised pizza and beer in exchange for their help. Riley had been adamant about doing it herself, but once Morgan had mentioned coming over to see the new place, and then help paint it, she had changed her tune dramatically.

The idea of showing Morgan around the house that would soon become her home was exciting. She had a house, a house that her and Peter would be sharing, a house that would be theirs for years and years to come. It was a big step, but it was a step Riley was comfortable with, a step that she wanted to take with Peter.

Since they had found the perfect place, it had made her transition from life without Morgan to life with Peter a lot less scary. Part of her wanted Morgan to have the same excitement deep in her bones because of a house, but if she was happy living in Sonny's apartment, then she certainly wasn't going to push.

"So no hot pink?" Morgan asked as the four of them stood around the island in the kitchen.

There was absolutely no furniture in the house and nothing other than paint and painting accessories. A small cardboard box was set up near the end of the counter for garbage, but other than that, the place was empty, ready for them to get working on making it their own.

"No, no Sonny Carisi blue either." Riley countered, watching as Sonny flipped the lid back on one of two pizza boxes. Peter was working away at getting bottle caps off of bottles without having a bottle opener anywhere in the kitchen. So far he was doing alright, using the drawer handles as leverage.

"What the hell is 'Sonny Carisi blue'?" Sonny asked, leaning against the edge of the island, taking a beer when Peter handed it to him.

"Okay so remember the dress Morgan wore to the gala last year?" Riley questioned and Sonny slowly nodded his head yes. "That was 'Sonny Carisi blue' since it was the same colour as your eyes, not that I noticed, it was all Morgan's doing. I don't tend to look people in the eye unless I'm fucking them."

"Or best friends with them." Morgan added with a smirk.

"Okay, I probably look people in the eye a lot more than I let on." Riley huffed. "I just don't want you guys to think I know what colour Sonny Bunny's eyes are."

"Blue." Morgan said dreamily and looked in his direction, taking in the colour of his eyes. "Dreamy ocean sky blue."

"Barf." Riley groaned.

"We mostly stuck to greys and beiges." Peter piped up, watching in awe as Morgan stepped in front of Sonny and pressed her chest against his. "Purple for Ry's office."

"Purple?" Morgan asked, but didn't dare tear her eyes away from Sonny.

"Light purple but yeah. I think we need to split them up." Riley said, looking sideways at Peter. "I don't think they should get to fuck in our house before us."

Morgan rolled her eyes but backed away from Sonny, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Riley. She reached out and grabbed a slice of pizza, taking a huge bite of it before Sonny did the same.

"The bedroom needs to get done first." Peter instructed. "It's already taped and there's a sheet on the floor, so it's basically ready to go."

"Aren't you handy?" Morgan teased, pausing between bites of her pizza.

"I did it." Riley deadpanned. "I took the day off work yesterday, googled how to get ready to paint, and got everything ready."

Morgan nodded her approval and Riley shot her a smile of pride. Well that was certainly the right way to start a painting party, Morgan loved the fact that everything was pretty much ready to go, all they had to do was break the paint out of the cans and put it on the walls.

Riley and Peter both grabbed a slice of pizza and a blanket of silence fell over them all as they ate. Once Morgan was done two slices, she took off out of the kitchen carrying an open bottle of beer, leaving the other three in the kitchen, Sonny working on slice number three while Riley finished her second. Peter was done two but made no move to grab a third.

"Should the four of us all paint the same room, or should we divide and conquer?" Riley pondered.

"Same room maybe?" Sonny countered but he sounded very unsure.

"At least for the bedroom." Peter agreed.

"Okay." Riley nodded with a grin. "Then Morgan and I can get to painting your office hot pink."

Sonny snorted at her and shoveled another piece of pizza into his face, all the while looking between Riley and Peter. It was really nice of them to have a house that they were going to move into. It sounded like a really great step for him and Morgan to make once they were married because there was no way they'd be able to fit kids in the apartment with them.

He didn't want to scare her though, he didn't want her to feel pressured or rushed into anything, he wanted her to be comfortable in their relationship. Bringing up buying a house, or at the very least a bigger apartment, seemed like post wedding conversation.

"Well I'm done here, I'm going to go grab Mo and we can get started. You two take all the time you need before coming to help us." Riley stated. "But not too long because that's not why you're here."

Sonny tossed her a smile and she took off in search of Morgan, finding her in the room that would be Peter's office as soon as they moved in and settled down. She was looking around, peering out the rather large window that looked out onto the backyard, her eyes wide with wonder and a smile on her face.

"I can't believe you bought a house." Morgan whispered, fearful that if she spoke too loudly, the whole picture would disappear in front of her very eyes, like a mirage in the desert. "And I can't believe you've been with the same guy for over a year."

Riley huffed at her words and stepped up beside her, setting her hand on her shoulder and leaning in against her. Morgan's hand came up and rested on top of Riley's, the two of them falling silent and just looking out the window.

"You and Sonny doing alright in his apartment?" Riley asked, genuinely curious as to how things were going between them.

"Yeah." Morgan nodded. "We're working through each other's habits, but its fine. He's definitely not as good of a roommate as you."

"Probably a better cook."

"I don't know about that. It's all Italian food, lots of carbs. He's going to make me so fat."

"Pfft, won't matter anyways, he's marrying you and is therefore stuck with you." Riley joked. "Frigging Italians."

Morgan nodded her head in agreement. He made dinner often and he made a lot of it when he did. She had so many leftovers in her fridge that she took for lunch at work that it was insane. She wasn't going to complain though, it was nice to have a home cooked meal while working, and when it was dinnertime. He was a great cook, but nowhere near as adventurous as Riley when it came to new recipes.

"Come on, let's go paint your bedroom. The sooner it's done, the sooner you can get into this house and start making babies."

Riley winced at her words but moved quickly to cover it up. Morgan didn't seem to notice, instead, she turned towards the door and headed back out into the rest of the house, bee-lining it for the stairs. Riley was hot on her heels and the two of them walked into the bedroom together, Morgan grabbed a long-handled roller and Riley nabbing a paintbrush for the smaller spaces and nearer to the window frames, which were, as promised, all taped and ready to go.

Sonny and Peter wandered in, Sonny immediately getting the lid off the first paint and pouring it into two trays before he grabbed a roller too, leaving Peter with another paintbrush. None of them were dressed very fancy, in fact, Morgan's t-shirt was littered with little holes and Riley's tank top was worn and faded.

Peter was in a t-shirt, the same as Sonny, but it wasn't anything super important. Painting usually turned out to be messier than anyone anticipated, and today was no different.

It was barely half an hour in when Morgan dripped a trail across the sheet on the floor and proceeded to step in it with her bare feet, leaving tracks from the tray to the wall. Sonny rolled his eyes and Riley let out a laugh, but she was soon covered in flecks of paint on her arm from painting.

"I feel like there are people you could've hired to do this." Morgan remarked, lifting her one foot up and wiping the bottom of it on Sonny's jeans.

"Yeah but that would've cost us money. You two we can just pay in pizza and beer." Riley retorted and rubbed at her arm, smearing the paint across her skin. "Plus this is totally fun. I love this."

"Liar." Morgan hissed, setting her one foot down and lifting up the other, swiping it down Sonny's pants like she had done the first time. He turned towards her and glared but she smiled at him and shrugged. "Honestly surprised you haven't start finger painting over there Ry."

Riley let out a growl at her arm and how fleck-covered it was. She pressed the brush against the wall but Peter was quick to set his hand over hers on the handle. She felt herself calming down almost instantly and offered him a quick kiss, which received a loud wolf whistle from Morgan.

"Shut your face." Riley snapped and before she knew what was happening, Morgan was rolling the paint roller up her back, coating her shirt in grey paint. "What the hell?"

"It slipped." Morgan feigned innocence.

"No, hey, we are not doing this." Sonny glowered and Morgan stared at him. Riley watched in awe as she slowly started to wander towards him, the roller going up the front of his pants and shirt as she closed in on him, covering him in grey. "Mo seriously?"

"What Sonny Bunny?" She batted her eyelashes at him and he stared down at the front of his clothes, taking in the sight of all the paint that he was now wearing.

"Maybe you could try to keep the paint on the wall?" Sonny fired back.

"I'm surprised it took her this long." Riley remarked. "I figured it'd be the first thing she did."

Riley cringed as she felt the cool liquid against the back of her neck, snapping her body around to face Peter, who was looking at her cautiously, the paintbrush in his hand.

"You're looking a little grey Riley." He said, stone cold serious.

"Whoa, Peter Stone has some bad boy in him." Morgan whooped, Peter breaking out into a grin, and attacked Sonny yet again, but Sonny raised his own paint roller and tried to get her before she could get him.

Riley let out a sigh and went right back to painting the wall around the window frame, trying to ignore what was going on around her. She just wanted it painted so they could move in, but when cool paint ran down the side of her neck, just under her ear, she shrieked and turned on her heels to level Peter with a glare.

Her eyes were locked on his and she brought her own paintbrush up, booping him gently on the nose with it, leaving a grey spot on his face. He chuckled at her and wrapped his arms around her, hauling her against him, their paintbrushes dropping to the floor as he leaned in and kissed the clean side of her neck, Riley shuddering at the motion.

Morgan's paint roller handle clicked against Sonny's as they used them like swords, splattering little flecks of paint everywhere. It didn't matter though, anywhere that wasn't supposed to be painted was covered or taped, but it would certainly make for a more difficult clean up.

When Morgan tripped on the wrinkle in the sheet on the floor, she flew forward but Sonny managed to catch her before she hit anything. She let her roller drop to the floor but Sonny wasn't done, not yet, and he brought the roller up, running it up her right arm and covering her skin in grey paint.

"Guys!" Riley barked, still in Peter's hold. "For Christ's sake, this is the first fucking room."

"I hope you're prepared to do a lot more of them on your own." Morgan cackled. "Because I don't think we're that great of a help."

Riley blew out a sigh, "no shit."

Honestly though, she couldn't help the smile spreading out across her face, merely enjoying the fact that she was having fun with her best friend.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Hey Stone!" Sonny barked, barging into his office without a second thought. When he was sure the man in question was looking at him, giving him his undivided attention, Sonny carried on. "Why didn't you tell me Delmonico tried to assault Riley in the hallway?"

Yeah, he knew about that, had to hear it from Morgan, then when he talked to Riley she had recounted the entire situation in vivid detail. It pissed him off to know that the man he was trying to prosecute had tried to threaten one of his friends. Riley didn't deserve that, but Sonny figured he deserved to _know_ about it. So why hadn't Stone been the one to tell him? Why did he have to find out from Morgan of all people?

"Plausible deniability." Peter answered calmly, stopping his hands from typing on his laptop. He rested his palms against the desk instead and Sonny stared at him.

Okay, so maybe he was expecting a little more fight from the DA, but Peter Stone was calm, cool and collected. He had known all about what happened, he should've been the first one to tell Sonny, or at the very least get Riley to tell him. But that wasn't what he was claiming, hell he didn't seem sorry at all.

"I'm sorry, what?" Sonny countered. Peter waved for him to come in and sit down, which Sonny did after shutting the door to his office. If Peter was going to rip him a new asshole, he didn't want people outside hearing.

"I tell you about the incident in the hallway, you work twice as hard not to use it in court."

"Not unless Riley goes on the stand."

"You would do that to her?" Peter asked, but it was clear by his posture that he already knew the answer. Sonny slowly shook his head no, fully aware how vicious lawyers could be. "Right, so as long as you don't know about the incident, you can't accidentally use it where you shouldn't."

"As a lawyer I get that but as a friend, you didn't think to tell me that your girlfriend was manhandled by the very guy I'm trying to put behind bars?" Sonny barked. Once again, Peter seemed calm, too calm maybe, but who was Sonny to judge. He had been a lawyer much longer than him, maybe he knew some tricks that Sonny didn't- okay, guaranteed he knew some tricks that Sonny didn't.

"In her defense, she handled herself on her own." Peter remarked. "Morgan told you that part, right?"

"That she kneed him in the private parts."

"She would use the word 'balls' but yes."

"Derek Delmonico is a scumbag."

"A scumbag that you're going to put away." Peter leveled him with a look, a look that told Sonny that he better not fail.

Peter Stone, as good of a friend to him as he was, was technically still in charge. He made the final calls, he passed on the cases to Sonny, he advised him; ultimately, the job came before friendship, as sucky as that sounded.

"Yeah and what if I don't?" Sonny questioned, but he wasn't challenging Peter, he was merely asking a genuine question. He wanted to know what would happen if Derek Delmonico managed to walk away a free man.

"You take the next case and move on." Peter answered.

"And Riley?"

"She's a big girl. She'll be okay."

"You can't honestly tell me that this doesn't bother you?" Sonny pressed. He knew that if it was Morgan in Riley's position, he'd be ready to hunt the man down and castrate him himself, so why wasn't Peter bothered more by this?

Derek Delmonico threatened and assaulted Riley in the middle of the hallway, in front of god knows who, the guy wasn't scared of, well, anything really. What would stop him from going after more and more women, or going back to the ones that had rejected him before? What was keeping him from going after Riley again?

"I try to focus on the fact that he didn't actually hurt her physically." Peter said softly. "She's tough, she's been through a lot before I came into the picture and she turned out okay. I trust her to look after herself when she can."

"He's twice her size." Sonny snarked, angry at Delmonico and not Peter.

"Yeah and when I showed up, he was in a fetal position on the floor by her feet." Peter stated with the tiniest of smirks. Apparently, he was a little bit proud of Riley for that. "Focus on your job, put him away, and we won't have to worry about what happens if he doesn't go to prison."

"Yeah, yeah I'll put him away. For Riley." Sonny nodded and stood up, reluctantly turned his back to Peter. He sucked in a breath and knew that he had to win this case, he had to send the son of a bitch to jail because he didn't want his friend living in fear, he didn't want Riley to have to watch her back everywhere she went.

Derek Delmonico was a monster and he _would_ go to jail, just as long as Sonny did his job- that was where his problem lay. He didn't know if the case against him was good enough, he didn't know if his witness was believable enough, he didn't know if he _could_ put the scumbag away.

"Carisi?" Peter called to him and Sonny turned back around. "We all lose cases, you can't let that get to you."

"Not this one, I can't lose this one." Sonny mumbled and took off, striding out the door of Peter's office and heading right back to his own.

When he stepped inside, he was pleasantly surprised to see Morgan sitting at his desk, her feet up on the edge of it looking super casual and comfortable. She grinned as he appeared in her line of sight but when she saw his concerned look, her smile dropped away and she sat up straight, dropping her feet to the floor.

"What's going on Sonny Bunny?" Morgan asked, leaning against his desk. He shut his door and wandered over, leaning against the corner of it so that he was in front of Morgan, her head tipped back as she looked up at him. "Sonny, you can talk to me."

"Derek Delmonico." He answered, as if that as all Morgan needed. She let out a soft sigh and shook her head, knowing that Delmonico had Sonny rattled to the core. This was a guy that rightfully deserved prison time but here was Sonny, looking defeated before the trial had even begun. This wasn't good, not even a little bit.

"Okay, what about him specifically?" Morgan pressed, hoping that if she could get the details, maybe she could help him.

"What if he walks?"

"Street justice." Morgan shrugged.

"What am I supposed to tell Riley if I lose? 'Sorry I know he's a rapist but because of me he walks'?"

"Sonny, I nearly twisted his balls off once, I can certainly do it again." Morgan scoffed.

"No, you shouldn't have to."

"I shouldn't have to do a lot of things but I do. I believe in you Sonny, you're a big fancy lawyer now, you should start acting like it."

He stared at her, wondering why she wasn't being a little more understanding of his predicament. This was his fiancé, the woman he was going to marry, and she was telling him to act more like a lawyer- well maybe she had a point. There was a reason Stone was as good as he was at his job and there were very few times Sonny could recall that he knew the other man's confidence had faltered.

Fake it until you make it, wasn't that the saying?

"You've got the look down, what with your sexy suits, but there was a reason Riley was drawn to Peter when she first saw him." Morgan stated.

"What's that?"

"Confidence. Honestly, dude's kind of a little bit cocky." Morgan remarked with a smile. "Like you used to be when you were with SVU. I think Sonny lost his groove."

He let out a sigh and she stood up, leaning into his chest and feeling his arms come around her, holding her tight. He rested his chin on the top of her head and felt her relaxing against him.

This was his girl, and maybe she had a point. He had to start getting it together if he stood a chance at Delmonico. He didn't want the bastard to walk free, he wanted to protect Riley and show her that he had the ability to put him away so that he couldn't hurt more women.

He would get there, he _had_ to get there, but there was still a small, teeny tiny, part of him that feared he couldn't do it.

God what was wrong with him? He had gone to law school, he knew the process, he'd been in court before, but this was personal. That was maybe where he had gone wrong. Personal conflicts as a detective weren't exactly allowed unless there were special circumstances, so maybe he could claim conflict of interest with this case.

But then who would it fall to? Someone much less invested, someone who had no real interest in watching him go away for a long time to come.

No, no Sonny would be keeping this case, and he was going to work his ass off to get himself a win.

"You done here?" Morgan asked, leaning back but remaining in his hold. "Or should I call Ry and ask her to be my substitute dinner date?"

"Oh Mo." He shook his head. "I think, if it's okay with you, I'm going to stay here a little longer."

Morgan let out a small sigh but threw a smile on her face, "don't work too hard, I want to see my Sonny Bunny sometime tonight."

"Definitely."

"Good." She lifted her hand up and gingerly poked the end of his nose, letting out a 'boop' as she did so. "Alright, I'll go call my bestie, I gather Mr. Stone is working late too?"

"You'd have to ask him."

"Maybe I will." Morgan's eyes lit up with mischief. She threw Sonny a wave as she left him in his office all alone.

When she was out of his sight, Sonny dropped down into his chair and blew out a breath, mentally chanting to himself that 'I can do this'. Over and over the words repeated in his head and slowly Sonny was starting to believe it, if only a little bit.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

As far as trials, Sonny knew he wasn't doing that great with his. Derek Delmonico's lawyer had totally ripped apart his witness, so much so that he wasn't sure he could recover. Peter had been busy with his own trial and Sonny found himself oddly grateful. There was someone else he wanted to talk to, someone who could maybe help him more than Stone ever could.

Finding himself at the familiar bar, waiting for the familiar person to show up, Sonny stole a glance around and let out a sigh. Yeah, court had been absolutely horrible, and there hadn't been much he could've done about it. Okay, maybe that wasn't entirely true, Sonny easily could've tried to prepare the victim more, let her see how brutal the stand would be, but he hadn't done that great of a job, at least not in his mind.

Ordering himself a beer, he sat at the bar and waited for the man he felt he needed to talk to.

When Rafael Barba wandered in and sat on the stool that he usually sat on back when he was ADA, Sonny couldn't help but smile just a little bit. This man was his friend, and he was the one person he felt like he could talk to about his massive screw up.

Morgan was close with Riley and would tell him things that he didn't want to hear, maybe even things that he didn't believe too, and Peter was his boss, he'd have to tell him to do better, and honestly, Sonny would've agreed.

He did need to do better, he needed to get Derek Delmonico behind bars.

"This better be good." Barba greeted and ordered himself a drink.

"Good is not the word I would use." Sonny countered, turning so that he was sitting sideways on his stool, looking at his dear friend. "I totally screwed up in court today."

"We all have bad days."

"Not you, not like this." Sonny huffed and lifted his beer to his lips, taking a giant swig before setting it back down. "My victim got completely ripped apart-"

"Nothing that hasn't happened to the best of us." Barba cut him off and turned sideways to face him. "Do you think you're cut out to be a lawyer?"

Sonny shrugged in response, not entirely sure if he could cut it. Sure he went to law school, but he was starting to understand that it took a certain type of person to work as an ADA. Barba was the prime example, and Stone had done a great job, but why was Sonny having such a hard time with this?

"Honestly, I don't know." Sonny answered, but he was too busy wallowing to catch Barba rolling his eyes.

"I didn't come all this way to be part of a pity party."

Sonny scoffed, throwing his head back, "well that's why I invited you."

Barba widened his eyes slightly and looked his friend up and down. It was clear that this particular case was getting to him, and sure who hasn't had a case that eats away at you? Sonny Carisi was a great lawyer, he just didn't realize it.

"Look," Barba said with a dramatic sigh, "you may have a lot of flaws- you're an idiot, you're loud, stubborn, slightly obnoxious at times-"

"Way to cheer me up."

"And you're constantly interrupting people." Barba paused just long enough to shoot Sonny a look. "But that's what makes you a great lawyer. So you got destroyed in court today, you drink, you regroup and you go back in there tomorrow and make them regret it."

Sonny merely stared at him, wondering where all that had come from. Jesus, he sometimes felt like Barba didn't really like anyone, let alone give them a compliment like that. Well if Rafael Barba claimed he was a great lawyer, he obviously had to see something in Sonny that Sonny didn't see in himself.

Was is that easy though? Would a drink and a regroup really help him?

"Hold on, you think I'm a great lawyer?" Sonny pressed.

"You're unbearable…but yes." Barba answered. Huh, okay, so maybe that was all he had to do. He wasn't entirely happy about his pity party, and he knew he could handle the tough guys he'd have to go against, hell, they were no different than the perpetrators back when he was part of SVU.

He knew this stuff, he had gone to law school, Barba had helped him through. If he wasn't cut out to be a lawyer, surely Barba would've told him back then, the man was definitely blunt when he wanted to be and there was no way he'd sugar-coat something just to spare Sonny's feelings.

"My guy, he went after Riley." Sonny explained. "He's scum, the worst of the worst-"

"You've dealt with scum before." Barba cut him off, fixing him with a pointed look.

"Yeah, at least this scum doesn't bite his victims."

"I heard all about that."

"You really think I can do this?"

Barba didn't say a word in response, instead he took a sip of his own beer and set the bottle back on the bar, picking at the corner of the label. Sonny wasn't sure what to make of the man sitting next to him.

He had been a great ADA but he had walked away. Was it possible that he had dealt with cases that were personal to him too?

It wasn't like he showed his emotions all that well, no they were usually covered up with smug sarcasm and cockiness. Was that what Sonny was missing?

"You've been in my court enough times to know what you have to do." Barba instructed and Sonny pictured some of his best performances.

Oh yes, Barba had a very good tactic, a tactic that rarely failed. Sonny just had to figure out what made Delmonico tick and then poke at it until he blew up. It seemed so simple, but he knew it was difficult. He'd have to toe the line between appropriate and unethical because if he crossed that line, Delmonico would walk free.

He knew what he had to do, and he could thank the man next to him for guiding him in the right direction.

"When's your next session?"

"Tomorrow morning, Delmonico's going on the stand."

"And did you ask Riley if she'd be there?" Barba quipped.

"Uh no, should I?"

"She might throw him off simply by being there."

"Huh, right."

"Remember, you don't always have to play cleanly." Barba smirked.

Alright, okay, Barba was definitely helping. Sonny knew he had quite a bit to do before court in the morning, but first, he was going to finish his beer with his friend.


	20. Chapter 20

Riley sucked in a breath and knocked on Peter's door. When he called for her to 'come in', she opened the door and stepped inside, looking every bit the woman that he knew her to be. She was decked out in a tight-fitting skirt paired with a light dress shirt that hugged her in all the right places, but what had his attention were her infamous 'fuck me' heels that she was wearing.

"You're supposed to be painting." Peter said with a smirk. "Not that I'm complaining, especially when you come here looking like _that_."

"Sonny invited me to Derek's trial." Riley confessed. She hadn't told him about it the night before, instead choosing to think long and hard about whether or not she was even going to show up. She wasn't going to let Derek Delmonico scare her anymore though, and if it meant forfeiting a day of painting to watch him go down, it would be worth it.

"Why?" Peter leveled her with a look but she shrugged at him, not entirely sure why Sonny had wanted her to be there. She just knew that he had asked her to come and she was going to show up for moral support. "You didn't tell me."

"I didn't know until an hour ago if I was actually going to show up." She nodded. "If you don't want me to go, I won't."

"I'm not going to tell you what to do." Peter stated quickly. A smile formed on her face and she wandered closer to him, hauling her butt up onto the edge of his desk, sitting right in front of him. "Okay, I might tell you to come find me when you're done because you can't show up here looking like that and not expect me to want to do things to you."

"It's the shoes right?" She laughed, crossing her legs tightly and poking him in the knee with the toe of her shoe.

"You sure you want to be a part of Delmonico's testimony?" He asked, resting his hand on her ankle. "What he did to you-"

"I remember him being the one on the floor in a ball." Riley cut him off. "I'll be fine."

He gave her a reassuring smile and she slipped off the edge of the desk to sit on his lap, his arms wrapping around her middle once she was settled. She couldn't help but feel a lot surer about this now that she was sitting with Peter. She wanted to help Sonny any way she could and if her simply being at the trial meant she was helping him, then it was the least she could do, right?

"I love you." Peter murmured, Riley running her fingers through his hair with a smile.

"I love you too." She replied. "I should go before I decide to stay here with you instead."

He let out a chuckle and loosened his hold on her, "promise me you'll come see me before you leave?"

"I promise." She beamed.

Hesitantly, she stood up off him and walked out of his office, pausing in the doorway to smile at him once more. She wandered down the hallway in search of Sonny, who was just coming out of his office as she approached. He tossed her a smile and she fell in stride next to him, allowing him to lead her to the courtroom without a word shared between them.

She didn't want to break his concentration nor did she want to find out what his real motive for her being there was. She just knew that she was willing to help him and this was as simple a task as she'd ever been asked to do.

When he led her into the courtroom, he pointed to a spot next to Rafael Barba, who let her sit next to him with a smile of his own. She felt him give her knee a gentle pat and before she knew what was going on, Derek Delmonico was sitting across the courtroom with who Riley assumed was his lawyer.

God, he looked so smarmy, so slimy and sleezy. His dark hair was slicked back and he was wearing a suit that looked just a little bit too tight on him, but what completed his look was the cocky smirk plastered on his face. She wondered what had him so happy, considering he was on trial for rape, she figured he'd be a wee bit more concerned.

Apparently not though.

Riley remained silent and watched intently as court settled in and Derek Delmonico was called to the stand. His own lawyer questioned him and Derek seemed calm, cool and collected throughout.

Was he going to walk? Did he stand a good chance of getting off? Huh, was that why Sonny had asked her to come, so she would be able to watch him lose?

He had to have a trick up his sleeve, right? Surely, he wasn't just going to play nice and let Derek get away with what he did.

Once Derek's lawyer took a seat, Sonny was quick to stand, wandering around the small table he was sitting at. He didn't look quite as good as Peter did in court but Riley was most definitely biased. She was still entranced by him though, wondering what he was going to do to get to Derek Delmonico.

She watched carefully as Sonny gently pressed the man on the stand on his ability to get women, but he did so in a way that made him seem genuinely interested and not at all ready to strike. Sonny knew how to ask the questions in just the right way that no objections were called, not to start with anyway.

When Derek let out a small sigh of irritation, Riley stiffened, knowing that this would be the moment she'd strike, if she had been the one up there instead of Sonny.

"What were you doing in the bar that night?" Sonny asked, looking directly at Derek, who stared back at him with a smug smirk on his face.

"I went to the bar for a date." Derek answered innocently.

"And that date just happened to be Parker McMohan?"

"Yes. We had a date and then we had sex, it was all consensual, a nice time, I was the perfect gentleman."

Sonny paused and placed his hands on his hips, "Consensual, sorry, I'm having a hard time believing that. She's clearly a ten and you're well…you're barely registering as a three on a good day. Are you sure she said yes, or is that just what you wanted to hear?"

"She said yes, she said she wanted it."

"She wanted it? Because from where I'm standing, it seems like it's all about what you want, right? And how dare she not give it to you?" Sonny closed in on the box and leaned in close to the man, wondering if this was how the women felt when dealing with Delmonico.

He was a bully, a rapist, and if Sonny had anything to say about it, he was going to get what was coming to him. He just had to make it though the next part.

"Objection." Derek's lawyer called out but Sonny's concentration remained unbroken. Nothing was going to stop him now, not seeing as he was on a roll.

"She owed you, right? You paid for drinks, it's only fair you get something in return."

"I…uh…"

"So what happens when they don't want to give you what you want?"

Derek was seething by this point and his eyes found Riley in the crowd. She merely held her ground though and stared back at him, Sonny immediately stepping in between Derek and anyone else, blocking his view of Riley. He didn't need to look at her, he didn't need to see her falter if she happened to.

"They don't have a choice!" Derek growled, even going as far as to lean forward in the box, and Sonny took a step to the side, moving out of the man's way in case he reached out towards him.

"But the girls never pick you, do they?" Sonny paused for a split second. "Why would they, look at you; your hair's too greasy, you're not charming, you're certainly-"

"Objection." His lawyer barked and Sonny was quick to withdraw. It didn't matter though; Riley could easily see Derek was fuming. Was that what Sonny was trying to do? Was he trying to get him mad and emotional?

"I can see that you're mad Derek," Sonny wandered towards the stand yet again but stopped just a few feet before getting to Derek and turned away, facing the jury instead. "Mad like you were at the girls for rejecting you, aren't you? After all, who are they to deny you?"

"They're bitches who don't know what they want!" Derek screeched. "They don't know what's good for them, so I take it, I take what they won't give me."

"You rape them?" Sonny asked, trying to stay calm on the outside, even thought his insides were practically vibrating.

"Yes! She had it coming, she was asking for it! Bitch doesn't get to turn me down..."

Derek's voice continued to yell in the courtroom but all Sonny could do was walk back to his chair and casually lower himself onto it. It didn't matter what happened next, he had gotten him, Derek Delmonico had confessed on the stand, he had won.

Stealing a glance behind him, he shot Riley a smile and she shook her head in amusement. It had been a little scary for her to watch Derek blow up like that, but it was too good to see him now, all crazy on the stand and clearly going to jail.

It was worth it for her, and for Sonny.

Everything happened next in a blur and Riley found herself out in the hallway standing next to Rafael Barba, who looked quite pleased by what had just happened. When Sonny came striding out of the courtroom, she went right for him, enveloping him into a hug and squeezing him tight, knowing that this man was a friend of hers for life.

When she pulled back, he smiled at her, but she could tell that he was relieved. The weight of the world was currently no longer on his shoulders.

"You did good kid." Riley remarked and he let out a chuckle.

"I'm older than you."

"If felt like the right thing to say." She grinned. "Jesus, I can't believe he did that, you got him to just- kaboom, Derek bomb went off in there."

"I had some help." Sonny stated, shooting Barba a knowing look.

"Unbearable, but good lawyer." Barba stated. "You should be proud."

Sonny couldn't wipe the smile off his face and when Riley grabbed his hand, he let her. She tugged on it and the two of them wandered back towards his office, waving at Barba as they did so. She carried on past his office and marched right into Peter's, waiting as he finished his phone call.

As soon as the phone was hung up, he looked up at the two of them, a questioning look on his face.

"Promote this man." Riley demanded with a smile.

"Uh?"

"She's kidding."

"Not kidding, he needs to be promoted." Riley seemed adamant but when Peter stood up, she cocked her head at him, wondering what he could possibly say to her to get her to change her mind.

"Give him my job?" Peter asked and Riley let out a soft growl. Okay, so maybe there wasn't room to promote Sonny, at least she had tried.

"Okay, don't promote him, just give him a pay raise. Why do you have to complicate things all the time?" She shook her head at Peter but Sonny let out a laugh. "Seriously, Sonny here did great in there, Derek confessed."

"What?" Peter looked between the two of them.

"Yeah, he just kept pushing his buttons until he snapped. God it was a beautiful sight." Riley looked up at Sonny with a dreamy look on her face. "Dude was amazing, although I'm sort of sad, I was really looking forward to getting my very own street justice on him."

"I uh, I should get back to my office." Sonny announced. Riley gave his hand a final squeeze and let go of it.

"You did good." Peter called out, watching as Sonny stalked out of his office, leaving him alone with Riley. "He really confessed?"

"Sonny was all 'you take what you want, you rape them right?' and Derek was all 'Yes' like a freaking mad man. God I am so turned on right now." She sighed and looked at Peter.

"You're a strange kind of grown up." He teased.

"Strange but fun. Come on, I didn't wear my 'fuck me' heels for Derek Delmonico."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Sonny had shown up at the apartment with a grin on his face and Morgan knew instantly that he had done well in his court case. She didn't have to ask in order to know that, he was way too happy, a much different look to him than the night before when he had come home from the bar sulking and defeated.

Barba had apparently managed to talk some sense into him and for that, Morgan was grateful.

"So?" Morgan posed from her spot on the couch. She was lounging on it in her pajamas, flicking through the channels as she tried to find something good to watch. "You do good today?"

"I almost got promoted." Sonny joked and took his jacket off, hanging it up in the closet at the front door. He closed in on her and sat down next to her, Morgan immediately draping her legs over his.

"What?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and he let out a laugh, recalling how adamant Riley had been on his alleged promotion.

"Well I won, I managed to get Delmonico to confess on the stand, and Riley hauled me right into Stone's office demanding he promote me."

Morgan couldn't help but smile, picturing her best friend doing just that. She leaned towards Sonny and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her nose against his.

"He confessed?"

"He certainly did." Sonny tipped his head and pecked her on the lips. "I pushed him, he got angry and you know what happens when people get angry."

"Ooooh emotions erupt!" She squealed and felt his hands press against her sides. "Did Derek blow?"

"Like a volcano." Sonny grinned.

"Oh Sonny Bunny, that's great! I'm so proud of you." She pressed another kiss to his lips, this time lingering though, not just some quick peck. When she pulled back, she ghosted her fingers through the back of his hair. "My sexy ADA."

"With his first win." Sonny pressed and jerked her body forward, her chest pressing tight against his. "I'm so excited, you know?"

She gave a gentle nod of her head and held on to him, not wanting to get too far away from him. She was so proud of him, so happy that he had managed a win on his first case. It was a much better Sonny for her to be with than the 'down on himself, what happens if he fails' guy that had been around a lot more lately.

He was confident now, and Morgan couldn't be happier for him. She liked this guy a lot better, he was the Sonny she loved, the Sonny that she wanted to marry.

If this was how Peter Stone went home after his wins, it was no wonder Riley had stuck with him.

"I can't believe he confessed right there on the stand." Sonny had a look of wonder in his eyes and Morgan giggled. "He said the women deserved it, like they owed him for something."

"Some men aren't as great as you." Morgan cooed.

"Some men are a disgrace to males everywhere." Sonny pointed out and Morgan's smile fell. She knew all too well about men being disgraces.

She worked for SVU, she had brought down a serial rapist who bit his victims. The world was full of shitty men who wanted nothing more than to ruin women and destroy their innocence. It was nice that Sonny got to finish what her and the SVU started.

"You're a good guy though." Morgan said softly. "Don't ever forget that."

He bowed his head, pressing their foreheads together. She stared into his bright blue eyes and let out a soft sigh. Sonny Carisi was a great man, she'd remind him of that as often as he needed it because he was one of the best.

He treated her right, along with most other women. He had been raised to be a good boy and he always seemed to do the right thing. She loved him for that and she would love him until the day she died.

He was perfect in her eyes and she hoped that he knew how truly special he was.

"I love you so much." Morgan murmured, feeling his fingers dig into her sides. "No matter what. Whether you win or lose your cases, I will always be right there to support you and love you."

"I love you too Mo, so much." He whispered back.

"I can't wait to marry you ADA Carisi." She purred.

He hauled them both sideways, pulling her on top of him on the couch, her legs straddling his hips as he rested his hands on the outsides of her thighs. Her hands were pressed against his chest, holding her just above him as she looked down into his eyes, which were still filled with excitement from the events of court.

Part of her wished she had been there too but she had a job of her own. In fact, the only reason Riley had been there was because she had been off work painting the house, seeing as the four of them had accomplished very little the night they had been together.

Maybe she was a bit jealous that Riley got to watch Sonny work, but she was aware that there would be plenty more opportunities for her to do the same. He'd be a great ADA for a long time to come, she knew that much. She just hoped that he'd carry his newfound confidence to each and every case to come.

When he moved his hand towards her face, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she shuddered.

"We should celebrate properly." Morgan said in a low, husky voice.

"How's that?"

"Hmm, you and me, with no clothes on, preferably in our bed but honestly, if you want to _celebrate_ right here, I would _not_ be opposed." She grinned and closed the distance between them, pressing her lips against his again, this time quick and teasing. His hands drifted up from her thighs to her waist, slipping under the hem of her t-shirt.

"That is the most romantic thing you've ever said to me Mo." He teased and sat up, making quick work of getting to his feet. She remained on the couch for a split second before he hauled her into his arms, bridal style, and carried her into their bedroom.

Morgan couldn't wait for him to win again and again.

Sonny deserved it, he was a great man, and a great lawyer.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Painting was getting near the end and Riley thanked god for that. She was tired of painting, but she knew that once she was done, it would be worth it. They still needed to buy some new faceplates for the light switches and electrical outlets, but that seemed easy enough, a minute repair that she could handle on her own.

Their bed was even set up in the bedroom, dressers and all.

In fact, all of the upstairs rooms were done being painted and all of Riley's things from her apartment had been moved over, not necessarily unpacked, but she was out of her old place. It had been a bittersweet feeling, but without Morgan there with her, it was easier than she had anticipated. Peter's apartment had been emptied too and they were both officially living in the house, mainly the upstairs, seeing as the downstairs wasn't completely done, but all Riley really had to finish was Peter's office.

That was a job for tomorrow though, for now, she needed dinner, and she needed something to drink.

She was hungry, tired, thirsty, but she was so close to having everything done so that they could actually start unpacking things like her books and knick knacks, most of her clothes were still packed up, and her shoes- god her shoes had been haphazardly thrown into two boxes and at this point in time, she wasn't sure where exactly her favourite high heels were located (though she knew they were in a box somewhere in the house).

She had taken a week off from work to finish painting as much as she had and when Peter had offered to do the same, she had been adamant that he needed to work because bad guys didn't take time off.

In all actuality, she didn't trust herself alone with him and a paintbrush, because honestly, their paint fight had been fun.

Tonight, she found herself in the kitchen when he got home, the front door sounding out as it opened and then shut. She had a glass of orange juice residing on the island and a plate of leftover spaghetti and meatballs that she had heated up minutes before he had gotten home.

As soon as he met her in the kitchen, his dress shirt already unbuttoned at the top and the sleeves rolled up, she grinned at him, stabbing a meatball with her fork.

"All I have left is your office." She announced.

"Really?" He looked at her, impressed at how quickly she had gotten to work painting their home. Riley wasn't a quitter though, he knew that much about her, so honestly it wasn't really that surprising. "Hot pink right?"

"Sonny Carisi blue." She teased back and took a bite out of the meatball, setting it back on her plate. She was decked out in the same painting outfit she'd been wearing since she started, this time she had thrown a light sweater over top of her tank top. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and her feet were bare.

"Is there a Peter Stone colour?" He joked. She cocked her head sideways and studied him, taking his question very seriously. She had no idea what to say in response, so she shrugged at him and stuffed the remaining forkful of meatball into her mouth. "Sexy."

"Balls are my favourite thing to eat." She laughed once she had swallowed.

"I knew that already."

She continued to laugh and wandered to the fridge, pulling out the carton of orange juice and offering it to him. He took it but instead of getting a glass of his own, he took hers and drank down a good third of it, then he filled it up and handed her the carton back. Riley set it back in the fridge with a roll of her eyes, but when she looked back at him, he was looking at her plate of food.

"I should've taken time off and helped you." He confessed but she snorted at him.

"I'm way more productive without you around to be all sexy and cute."

"We could've put ourselves in different rooms." Peter pointed out.

"Yeah, like that would've stopped me from sexing you up every ten minutes." She stared at him with a grin. "You're so sexy."

"I still feel bad."

"Nah, don't." She shrugged. "I'm good, perfectly okay, not mad or upset with you at all."

He studied her, looking for a flaw in her statement, but she was smiling at him, happy as could be. Was she really not upset that he had left her alone to do most of the painting? It was supposed to be their home and so far she had spent way more time in it alone than with him.

That wasn't exactly what he wanted to happen, but she honestly seemed okay. Riley wasn't the type of girl to hold animosity inside either, if she wasn't pleased with him, she'd let him know. Currently she was perfectly fine.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She smirked. "Don't get me wrong, I missed you but I'd miss you whether I was here painting or at work."

He gave her a solid nod and leaned his elbows against the island, letting a blanket of silence fall over them so that she could eat. Her plate looked delicious and before he knew what was happening, she had a fork out of the drawer and was poking him in the wrist with the tines. He took hold of it and speared one of the meatballs, quickly putting the whole thing in his mouth.

She speared another meatball of her own but bit half of it off, not wanting to shove the whole thing in her mouth like he had just done. When she had it chewed and swallowed, she set the fork on the edge of the plate.

"This weekend we can actually get to unpacking everything." Riley stated. "I want to get my books on the shelves."

"I can help with that."

"Yes you can." She beamed. "And I need to find my heels."

"They're missing?" He feigned shock and she nodded her head.

"They're in a box somewhere." She explained. "No worries."

He nodded his understanding and forked some of the penne pasta onto the fork, shoveling it into his mouth. God he was hungry, he had come home later than he planned and he hadn't eaten since lunch, which had just been something small. He wanted to finish the whole plate of her pasta and Riley seemed to realize that as she grabbed her fork and tossed it into the sink.

"I can get my own."

"It's okay, I was more thirsty than hungry." She said. It was true, she had stopped for a sandwich earlier and wasn't really that hungry, but the meatballs looked too good when she spotted them in the fridge. "You enjoy those balls."

He laughed at her blatant innuendo and she leaned against the edge of the counter watching as he continued to eat. She couldn't help but smile, wondering if this was how their life was going to be. She loved having him come home to her, though it wasn't always as late as he had gotten home tonight. She liked having dinner with him and going to bed with him, then waking up next to him in the mornings.

It was nice, and she was glad she had agreed to move in with him, but more than that, she was glad she had given him a chance way back when.

He easily could've been a one-night stand, like the rest of the men in her past, but Morgan had pushed her, and she would forever be thankful.

"Hey, so legit, I want to get some pictures for the walls and I think we should do something with your baseball career." Riley suggested and he finished the mouthful he had before looking at her.

"As short-lived as it was?" He quipped.

"Baseball pants Peter." She laughed. "You look so cute in your pictures on google. Oh hey, actually, I got something for you the other day."

"What, like a present?"

She nodded her head and took off out of the kitchen. He was quick to finish the plate of pasta, setting the plate and fork in the sink to be washed later. He then waited patiently in the kitchen, looking around at the freshly painted walls.

She had done a great job on the paint, and he believed the walls would stand up for years to come. This was definitely their home, he just needed to make things even more official.

When she reappeared at the island, he stared at her and noticed that she was holding something small in her hand, it was no bigger than his phone and when she held it out for him, his eyes widened at the sight of his MLB Rookie Card.

She beamed with pride and when he took it, the card tucked inside a thick plastic case, he couldn't help but stare at the picture of him on the pitcher's mound, ready to throw a pitch. He flipped it over and looked at the stats inscribed on the back, wondering where the hell she had managed to find this particular rookie card.

He had one at one point in time but through his moves to law school and to his many residences, it had gotten lost, along with a lot of items from his past.

"Riley…" He trailed off, mesmerized by the card in his hand. God, he loved it, it was so simple but so meaningful, and for her to have decided to even look for it, let alone manage to find it, was amazing.

"You know a guy who played for the Mets, I know a guy who was a Cub's fan that I met at M.I.T. that owed me a favour." She shrugged, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Easy enough."

"No." He shook his head and she opened her mouth to question him, but he jerked his head up and looked at her. "No it wasn't easy, don't even pretend it was."

"Okay I won't." She joked.

"Riley…"

"What, it's for me just as much as it's for you. Baseball pants Peter, look how sexy you look all ready to throw a strike. Super attractive, even if you are wearing a Cubs jersey." She grinned and he lifted his hand up to her, signaling he needed one minute.

He gingerly set the card on the top of the island and left the kitchen abruptly. She followed him with her eyes until she could no longer see him, then she stepped towards the card and turned it so that she could get a better look at it. Honestly it was just a playing card, but apparently, he was impressed by it.

It had been a lot of work, but it was worth it.

Peter came bounding back into the room and he barely stopped himself before he ran into her, Riley taking a step back so as not to stumble. He shoved his hand into the pocket on the front of his pants and when he pulled out a small box, she gaped.

"No." She shook her head. "No you did not go to Tiffany's."

"I did."

"No." She backed away, but her eyes were wide and full of excitement. "You did _not_."

"I _did_." He grinned and set the small blue-green box on the counter, sliding it towards her. She stared at it for a few seconds and when she made no move to take hold of it, he flipped the lid open, revealing the simple heart shaped diamond set in a white-gold band. Her hands moved up to cover her mouth, which was gaped open in pure shock.

Marriage was logically the next step, and she probably should've seen it coming, but she felt totally blindsided. It was perfect though, the diamond shaped like a heart, the fact that the band wasn't gold (because she hated gold)- had he really managed to pull this off without her knowing?

"Marry me?" Peter asked softly and she nodded her head yes so very slightly that he barely noticed. "Riley?"

"Yes." She breathed, her hands falling away from her mouth. "Obviously."

He freed the ring from the box and she held her hand out, letting him slide it onto her finger, where it slid on perfectly. She looked from the ring to his eyes and couldn't help but smile at his giant grin.

"I wasn't planning on asking you tonight but that rookie card…it seemed like the right time."

She ran a shaky hand through her hair and grabbed his hand, hauling him forward and colliding with his body. When she pressed her lips against his, he kissed her right back. This was perfect; the moment, the rookie card, her saying yes- it was just right.

"God I love you so much." She whispered, resting her palms against his chest. "So much."

What more could he ask for? There was nothing in the world that would make him any happier than at that very moment.


	21. Chapter 21

It was months down the road and Riley had been in the middle of getting ready for Morgan's bachelorette party when it occurred to her that maybe she should just double check and make sure that the first round of her artificial insemination actually hadn't worked like she originally believed.

Alas, when she had peed on the stick, it had said she wasn't pregnant. It was a bittersweet moment; she was definitely sad that it hadn't worked but another part of her was excited because that meant she could drink freely tonight at the party. She wanted to do the bachelorette party justice; Morgan deserved that much from her.

When she walked down the stairs in her super revealing black dress, Peter looked her over from his spot on the couch, a Yankees game playing on the television that he was half watching. She wandered in and sat down next to him, crossing her legs tightly so as not to let anything hang out. It was a dress she had bought specifically for this event and now, as she was wearing it, she was starting to regret it.

It was almost too tight and she kept finding herself pulling the skirt part down and the chest part up.

"I can't believe you're actually going to a strip club." Peter shook his head but he wasn't upset by it, he was more amused.

"Hey, I promised Mo a good time."

"So long as you don't go home with a stripper…" He prodded, giving her thigh a gentle pat.

"Pfft, strippers are no DA Mr. Stone. You're the only man for me."

Peter offered her a smile and shook his head. He completely trusted her, she hadn't so much as looked at another man since they had started dating, yet the whole night made him feel a little uneasy. She was going out with Morgan and some friends to a strip club to get drunk. What could possibly go wrong?

"Be safe."

Riley flashed him a grin and made her way to her feet. Not surprisingly she wasn't wearing her actual 'fuck me' heels, no, instead she had on a pair of strappy wedges that were probably more practical for when she came stumbling home after a few too many shots. Plus, her 'fuck me' heels were reserved for Peter more often than not.

"Tell me who wins later." She nodded towards the television and he gave her a cheeky thumbs up before heading towards the door.

She grabbed her leather jacket from inside the closet and slipped her purse over her shoulder, watching out the front door for her ride. When she saw headlights, she whipped open the front door and ran out to the car, slapping her hand on the driver's side window where Sonny could easily be seen through the glass.

In the front passenger's seat was Morgan, Bella and Amanda were in the backseat which is where Riley quickly climbed in. When her seatbelt was done up, she flashed a grin to all the girls and gave Sonny's shoulder a pat.

"Strip club!" Riley whooped and Morgan turned to face her, beaming with excitement. "I have so many dollar bills in my purse."

"Same!" Morgan hollered, the other two girls agreeing. It was so cute to see Morgan this excited, especially for something as out there as a strip club, but it was her bachelorette party and Riley _had_ promised her a good time.

Slutty outfits, sexy shoes, male dancers and alcohol. It sounded like the perfect night and with the plan to let loose and enjoy themselves, each girl seemed excited to get the night started.

"Not sure how you convinced me that this was a good idea." Sonny remarked as he backed out of the driveway, pulling onto the road and heading towards the very strip club that Riley had told him about. "You're going to be my wife; I shouldn't be letting you look at other men."

"Yeah well, that's all I'm doing is looking." Morgan giggled.

"And slipping bills in their undies." Amanda pointed out and Sonny shot the woman a glare in the rear-view mirror.

"I just want you to have fun, but also be safe." Sonny said.

"I'm a cop, and so is Amanda. We'll be fine." Morgan snorted. "Honestly Sonny Bunny, you're the best fiancé a girl could ask for."

Sonny merely threw her a smile and soon enough the girls were off talking about all the wonderful fun they were going to have. He tried to tune them out because he didn't want to hear much about their plans for the night, not that he wasn't okay with Morgan going, he just didn't want to hear his sister talk about strippers, nor did he want to listen to his former partner squeal about erotic dances.

He was perfectly content letting Morgan go, he trusted her, but he still found the whole idea a little off-putting. It didn't matter though, he wasn't going to tell her she couldn't do something. Anyways, she was his fiancé and he had faith that she knew how to handle herself.

When he pulled into the small parking lot of the strip club, the girls practically jumped out of the back but Morgan hesitated, leaning across the console to press a sweet little kiss against his cheek.

"Love you Bunny boy." She murmured. "I'll be home before you know it."

"Be safe." Sonny countered and Morgan freed herself of her seatbelt and opened the door, setting her feet on the ground. "And make good choices."

"Okay _dad_!" Amanda hollered back at him and he rolled his eyes.

It didn't matter though; Morgan had shut the door and the four of them were heading for the entrance to the strip club. Morgan had a sash across her deep navy dress that read 'bride-to-be' so that everyone in the club knew what was going on. Amanda and Bella were dressed very appropriately for the occasion, as was Morgan, each of them with an almost skanky dress and matching shoes.

It was going to be the greatest night ever!

Riley was quick to check her coat and head off to the bar, rounding up a waitress to bring them shots to their table, which Amanda had claimed, Bella and Morgan sitting there with her. When Riley appeared, she flopped dramatically into the last remaining chair and the waitress set down a bunch of shots shortly after.

Amanda doled them out so that each girl had three shots in front of them, then she took hold of one of her shots, lifted it into the air above the middle of the table and waited for the rest of the girls to follow suit.

"To Morgan Loughton, soon to be Morgan Carisi!" She toasted and they clinked their tiny glasses, throwing back their first shot and each one of them slamming the empty glass onto the table.

Riley grabbed her second one and lifted it into the air this time, the other three repeating the same motion, "May you have a long and happy marriage."

They clinked glasses again, set the empties on the table and Bella was quick to grab the last shot in front of her, raising it up for her very own toast.

"To my brother's future wife, welcome to the family and too bad my sisters are bitches."

"Thank Christ they're not here." Riley muttered and stood up from the table, disappearing back towards the bar.

A stripper on the stage seemed to finish his routine and the lights in the club lowered, Morgan getting excited to watch a stripper do his thing from the very beginning. She dug into her purse and pulled out a rather large wad of ones, setting it on the table. Amanda and Bella did the same, grinning at Morgan and when Riley came back with four bottles of beer in her hand, she quickly set them on the table and pulled out her stack of ones.

Hell yes, it was going to be a great night.

A good hour into watching the different guys dancing and taking their clothes off, Morgan was feeling pretty good. She was enjoying herself and she was relaxed while watching the latest man, who was dressed like a policeman, close in on her. He held out a pair of shiny silver cuffs but when he approached her, she motioned the man towards Bella, not wanting to do anything bad.

Sonny had told her to make good choices, and even though she was definitely loaded up on alcohol, she knew better than to let a stripper cop put handcuffs on her. She couldn't help but let out a loud whooping laugh as the stripper put one hand cuff on Bella's wrist and the other on his own before bringing her up on stage, setting her down on a chair (which he had brought out at the beginning) and began dancing against her.

Morgan grabbed about five ones, balled them up in her hands and just threw them as hard as she could at the man, then she grabbed another handful and did it again, knowing that Bella was enjoying herself by the giant grin on her future sister-in-law's face.

It was such a nice night without having Gina and Theresa there, they would've ruined it with their constant bitching about how the girls were dressed like sluts, or how the guys were sinning because they were taking their clothes off- okay Morgan wasn't sure if that really was a sin, but she was pretty drunk and didn't really care.

They could sin all they wanted, so long as they kept dancing.

Riley set another shot in front of her, this one was a fun blue colour, and Morgan tossed it back before anyone could make a toast. She didn't care anymore, she just wanted to keep having fun.

And fun she had. Music started playing louder and the man on stage took an intermission of sorts, which left the girls able to dance themselves. Amanda was grinding on Riley, who was lapping it up. Bella hesitated for a few seconds but when Amanda hauled her in, she joined them in their raunchy dancing that was starting to look more like an orgy than innocent dancing. Morgan leapt in the middle and let the girls dance on her, not stopping her movements until the lights went back down low and the next male dancer came out on stage.

This one was special apparently because the entire club fell quiet. He was the star of the show though and when the man appeared on stage, Morgan looked at him in awe. He had the body of a Greek god, his abs looked like they were razor sharp and his body was completely hairless and coated in a thin layer of something that made him shine.

He was literally the perfect man, but he still wasn't her Sonny Bunny.

Amanda fisted the remaining dollar bills that she had brought and when the man danced over to their table, she was quick to stuff them all in the waistband of his underwear, which looked an awful lot like a thong.

Morgan couldn't help herself and she started giggling, pointing in the vague direction of the dancing man.

Riley leaned in close to her and Morgan muttered the word 'thong' before breaking into full on laughter, bringing her friend along with her.

The two of them were cackling by the time the man sauntered off the stage, effectively ending the show. Riley leaned against Morgan and ran her hand across her back, petting her and murmuring 'good Morgan'.

"How do you get a stripper's number?" Bella cried out and slapped her hand on the surface of the table. "I want it!"

"No Belle, he's not for you." Morgan countered but she kept laughing, at this point she wasn't even sure why anymore. "You need a nice man, like a Barba, or a Stone, or a Carisi."

"Carisi…Mo…" Riley seemed to be thinking hard but she shook her head and laughed along with Morgan, not even bothering to figure out that Bella would never get a Carisi because that was what she was. "Do you think Petey would get mad if I put money in his underwear?"

"Maybe try a bigger bill." Amanda tossed out. "He deserves more than ones."

Riley planted her purse on the table and opened it wide, looking into it. When she didn't see what she was looking for, she lifted it up and held it right against her face, Morgan poking the purse and laughing even harder. When Riley moved it away, she zipped it shut and leaned over Morgan, licking her shoulder.

"Should I call our ride?" Morgan quipped and opened her own purse, pulling out her phone and putting it on the table. "Who's driving us home?"

"I don't know, call 9-1-1." Bella murmured, her words slurring.

"No Belle, now's not an emergency." Morgan shook her head hard, stopping after a few movements because her vision blurred. She gingerly leaned forward and set her head on the table, looking at the side of her phone. "Who we gunna call?"

"Ghostbusters!" Riley cheered. "Do you have their number?"

Morgan awkwardly shook her head against the table and poked at her phone screen with her finger. When it didn't do anything, she growled at it, but Bella grabbed it, holding it up in front of her face.

"Call my brother!" She yelled at it but the phone did nothing. She tossed it back to the table and scowled at it not doing what she told it to do. "What about a cab?"

"Noooo." Morgan whined. "We deserve a limo."

"Yes!" Riley threw her hand up into the air. "Call the limo."

Morgan took her phone off the table and poked at it, the phone started ringing as she did so, completely coincidentally. She stared at it, her eyes wide in fear as it vibrated and rang in her hand.

"Ahh!" She screeched and tossed it into the air. Riley made a grab at it but missed completely, the phone hitting the table hard. She poked at the screen this time and picked it up, pressing it against her face but holding it upside-down.

"Yo?" Riley barked into the phone.

"You girls almost ready for me to pick you up?"

"Is this the Ghostbusters?" Riley asked, covering the bottom of the phone, which was actually the top, and turning to the other three girls, "it's Ghostbusters, what do I say?"

"Tell them we have ghosts that need busting." Amanda laughed.

"Okay." Riley nodded and moved her hand away from the phone. "Hello Mr. Buster sir, yes, we have ghosts that need busting."

"I ain't afraid of no ghost." Bella said wistfully, leaning against Amanda, who slipped her arm around her waist.

"Right, well I'll be there in about fifteen minutes. Can you be outside by then?"

"Sure thing Mr. Buster sir." Riley lifted up the hand not holding the phone and saluted, then she hung up the phone call and handed the phone back to Morgan. "They're on their way."

"Phew." Morgan sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I hope the ghosts don't get us before then."

Riley smiled and stood up, slipping her purse over her shoulder and looking around the room. She furrowed her eyebrows together and forgot what she was looking for, that is, until she spotted the sigh reading bathrooms tucked away in the corner. Without saying a word to the other girls, she headed in that direction but before she could get too far, the rest of them were following her, the four of them entering the bathroom and splitting up from there.

Riley disappeared into a stall while Amanda and Morgan stood at the sinks, Bella wandering into the handicap stall and slamming the door shut. Morgan pulled the tap up and water flowed out of the faucet, her hands going under the bone chilling stream of water. She cupped her hands and let them fill before tossing it in Amanda's direction. Fortunately, most of the water had leaked out of her hands and back into the sink.

Amanda swatted at her and slapped her in the ass, _hard_. Morgan yelped and Bella let out a scream from inside the stall. When she stepped out of it a minute later, she glared at Morgan and Amanda and stuck her hands under the cold water that was still running.

"Sounds like a waterfall." Bella remarked in awe and she moved her hands back and forth under it. "So pretty."

"You're so pretty." Morgan cooed, poking her in the cheek with her wet finger. "So cute."

Riley sauntered out of the stall with a giant grin on her face but she refused to say a word to them except for her claiming that she 'did something naughty in the bathroom'. That was it though, and she too ran her hands under the freezing cold water before drying them on the back of her dress and marching out of the bathroom.

The four of them stood just out of the way, everyone looking around and trying to figure out what to do next.

"We should go see if Mr. Buster is here yet." Morgan announced and pranced towards the door to the parking lot. Riley somehow managed to remember her jacket as she walked outside, slipping her arms into it as she did so, Amanda looping her arm through hers while Bella did the same with Morgan.

The quartet of girls wandered out onto the sidewalk just outside and when a car beeped at them, all four of them jumped. Sonny popped his head out the window and waved at them, but none of the girls moved. Morgan studied his face and broke out into a huge smile.

"My Bunny boy!" She cried out and took off in an awkward run towards the car, yanking on the door handle and pulling it open. She bent down and stuck her head into the car, meeting Sonny's curious gaze. "How'd you know where to find us?"

"I'll explain it to you later." He chirped.

Morgan waved the three girls forward and climbed into the front of the car, buckling herself in and setting her hands on the dashboard, running them over the smooth surface with a giggle. From the backseat, Sonny heard a ruckus and when he looked back there, he made a mental note that Riley was laying across Bella and Amanda's laps and not actually buckled in.

"You got to have a seatbelt there Ry." Sonny called to her and she raised her hand up trying to grasp anything that she could but finding nothing on the roof of the car. Sonny offered her his hand and she grabbed on, hauling herself upright and squishing her butt on the seat between Bella and Amanda. "You good?"

"I am drunk." Riley said with a smirk. "Oooo and horny."

"Samesies!" Morgan wiggled in her seat. Before Sonny had a grasp on things, Bella and Amanda had also admitted to being horny and without hesitating any more, fearing what might happen if he didn't get them all home soon, he took off from the strip club and began driving towards Riley's house, dropping them off in the reverse order that he picked them up in.

"So how were the strippers?" Sonny asked casually and Morgan leaned over, running her hand down the side of his head. She poked him in the earlobe and laughed.

"Pretty." She sighed. "Not like my Bunny boy though, you're the prettiest of them all."

"I need a Barba." Bella whimpered. "Or a Stone."

"Or a Carisi." Morgan threw out.

"You need to get laid." Riley said with a grin. "Come home with me girl, my man can handle two girls at once."

"How's that work?" Bella countered.

"Nope, we're not doing that. Everyone goes home to where they belong." Sonny announced and prayed to god that he could get them all home before something bad happened in the car.

When he finally pulled into Riley's driveway, she climbed over Amanda, pressed a kiss to the blonde's forehead and called out her goodbyes. Sonny waited in the driveway until Riley was on the front step, then he began to back out, still watching to make sure she got in.

After struggling for a minute with the lock, Peter pulled the door open and appeared in the frame, throwing a wave at Sonny, who felt comfortable enough to keep moving, working on getting the rest of the girls home.

"Hey there fella." Riley cooed and leaned against the door frame cheekily staring at Peter, who was studying her carefully. "Want to know a secret?"

"What's that?" Peter questioned and she flipped open her purse, digging through it for a moment before grabbing something inside.

"I'm not wearing any underwear." She grinned, looking up at him and he rolled his eyes, knowing that she was just messing with him. When she pulled her hand out of her purse though, there, dangling from her hand, were her underwear and his eyes widened at the sight of them. "Ha, took 'em off at the bar before we left."

"Riley." He hissed and she threw them at him, watching as they hit him in the chest and fell to the floor just inside their front door. She pushed her way past him, fighting with him for possession of the door and once she was inside, she shut it, locking it behind her. She continued to grin at him and he glanced from her to the floor where her underwear remained.

"What do you say fella?" She coaxed and pranced into the house further. He bent down and carefully grabbed her panties by the band, handing them back to her. "You want me to put 'em back on?"

"No."

"Huh okay, do _you_ want to put them on?" She countered and smacked at his hand in a similar fashion to a cat batting at a toy. "Seems kind of weird but okay."

"Riley." He said with a groan.

"Peter." She whined, attempting to mimic him. "Come on, I'm drunk and horny."

"Maybe food?"

"Oh good idea. I could go for lobster." Riley hummed and kicked her shoes off, watching as they landed a good five feet away from her. "Seafood."

"We don't have lobster."

"Well shit on a stick." She cursed and wandered into the house further, finding herself in the living room instead of the kitchen. She looked over at the television and cocked her head sideways, jerking as Peter came up behind her and set his arm around her shoulder. "You waited up for me?"

"I did."

"Hmm but you didn't make me lobster?" She turned her head and looked at him. "Pfft, you fail."

He lifted his hand up but dropped it in amusement. Was she going to remember this in the morning? Probably not, but until she decided she wanted to go to sleep, he was going to have to deal with her, and that was something that he wasn't sure he was prepared to do.

He hadn't ever seen her this drunk, but hey, it was a special occasion.

"I saw guys tonight." She stated in a low tone. "They took their clothes off."

"That's what strippers tend to do."

"Yeah but none of them were as pretty as you." She purred. "You're so pretty I could marry you."

He couldn't help but smirk at her, "maybe one day."

"Oh!" She threw her hand up and pressed her palm against the side of his face. "Can I really?"

"If you're a good girl."

She widened her eyes at him and licked her lips, "but I'm so much better at being _bad_."

Peter wasn't sure what to do at that moment. She was clearly into the idea of them having sex but was she too drunk to consent? She clearly wanted it, she had said so herself when she walked in the front door, but was it okay?

"Sandwich? Then bed?" He offered instead and she blinked in thought before nodding her head yes.

"Lobster sandwich." She muttered, peeling herself away from him and heading back to the front door, still not being able to find her very own kitchen.

"The Yankees won by the way!" He called out after her.

"That's good." She called back. "Damn Rebels deserve to lose the civil war."

Peter shook his head and headed to the kitchen, praying that Riley would find her way there eventually. This wasn't what he was expecting when he had agreed to let her go out for a bachelorette party, but it's what he got.

All he had to do was get Riley fed and to bed, maybe by then she'd be sober enough that they could maybe even have sex.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Bunny boy!" She called out as Sonny ushered her into their apartment.

He had managed to get every one of the girls home safe and now he was trying to get Morgan to be a little quieter, but she was clearly having too much fun singing and dancing in the hallway to their apartment. As soon as he got the door open, he gently shoved her inside and she let out a laugh, falling against the wall as he closed the door.

"Mo, you have to be quiet."

"Why?" She shot back, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Because of the neighbours."

"Oh." She looked around, confused. "I don't see any neighbours."

"They're on the other side of the walls."

Morgan turned sideways against the wall and pressed her palm flat against it, growling when her hand didn't immediately fall through it. She pulled her hand back a few inches and slapped the wall, again, nothing happened. When she moved her hand back even farther, Sonny grabbed it and jerked her towards him, Morgan giggling as he hugged her tight against him.

"I'm going to get you a man thong." Morgan said. "I saw so many tonight and I think you'd look good in one."

Sonny shook his head, there was no way he'd ever wear a thong, not even if he got paid a lot of money to do so.

She reached her hands up and squished his cheeks together, grinning as she poked, pressed and prodded his skin until he let out a yelp of pain. Her palms flattened against his cheeks and she ran her thumbs across the sides of his nose.

"I want…" she trailed off and stroked his nose a few more times with his thumbs. "You are my favourite."

"Your favourite?" He quipped, rather amused by her drunken rantings.

"My Carisi." She cooed. "Mother of dragons."

"Like I haven't heard that one before."

"Hey!" She shrieked and he lifted a hand up, gingerly pressing his finger against her mouth in a motion that suggested she be quiet. She licked his finger instead and he scoffed as he pulled it away. "We called the Ghostbusters tonight."

"Yeah? Were there ghosts at the strip club?"

"No, mostly men in thongs." Morgan nodded her head. "You should get a thong, I want you to wear a thong for me, will you wear a thong for me?"

The more she said the word, the more uncomfortable he got. He wasn't going to wear a thong, he would never wear a thong, but thank god Morgan was drunk and so easily distracted.

"Come on Mo, let's go to bed."

She nodded her head again but made absolutely no move to head in the direction of the bedroom, instead she remained standing in front of him, her hands still on his face and her eyes staring into his.

"Sonny Bunny, I'm sorry." She whimpered and he blinked at her. What the hell did she have to be sorry for, what had she done tonight- oh god, _had_ she done something tonight?

"Mo, what…what are you sorry for?" He asked, though part of him didn't want to know the answer. She sucked in a breath but started laughing.

"I think we broke your sister." Morgan said and at the thought of Bella being broken, she sighed sadly, but just as suddenly as she had become sad, her eyes lit up in delight. "Maybe we _fixed_ her. Yeah, that's better. Sorry Bunny boy, we fixed your sister."

Sonny blew out a sigh of relief. He trusted her, but drunk Morgan was a different story.

"That's okay." Sonny whispered. "So long as you guys all got home safe, that's all that counts."

"Yes, thanks to the Ghostbusters." Morgan beamed. "Bella ain't afraid of no ghosts."

"I picked you gals up." Sonny corrected her and Morgan shook her head no. "Yeah."

"No that doesn't make any sense, zero sense, negative sense." She carried on and finally pulled her hands away from his face, but they were quick to take up residence over his ears. He leaned forward and held his breath for a second, wondering if she was aware of how badly she smelled like alcohol. "Hey I got something to try."

She backed away from him and fished her wallet out of her purse. Once it was free, she tossed her purse to the floor, unzipped her wallet and pulled out two twenty-dollar bills before tossing her wallet to the floor with her purse. She smiled and took a step towards Sonny, grabbing at the waist of his pants.

He wasn't sure what to do so he remained stone still, merely watching as she tucked the two bills into the waistband of his pants. When she gave his side a pat and smiled at him, he reached out towards her, wanting to take her hand, but she slapped at it.

"Noooo, not how this works." She scolded. "I put money in your pants, now you take them off."

"Oh okay, I see what this is."

"A stripper show." She pointed at him. "Do you need music?"

"Mo I'm not-"

"Doo do da dum boop bop tweedle dee dee." She was making the most random noised and Sonny knew she was waiting for him to dance, or take his clothes off, but he planned on doing neither. When her hands came out to rest on his hips, he tensed but she merely forced him to bend side to side, controlling his movements. "La la la, badum badum."

"You maybe want some water?" He pressed, taking a step away from her and forcing her hands off his hips. "Or some juice or something?"

"Fruit punch." She cried out and spun around on her heels, making a break for the fridge.

"We don't have any…okay, well…"

She opened the fridge and looked inside, seeing nothing interesting, not until her eyes landed on the carton of milk. He watched as she pulled it out, carefully holding it with two hands before offering it to him.

"Moo juice." She raised her eyebrows. "Can I please have some moo juice?"

He let out a laugh at her request and nodded his head. Moo juice sounded like a great idea, he just hoped that once she drank it, she'd be ready to get into bed.

He had a long night and Sonny wanted nothing more than to cuddle up with his fiancé and fall fast asleep.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley couldn't remember waking up feeling this bad in…well, in forever. She felt awful, but the nice thing was that she was curled up in her bed with Peter right next to her keeping her company as she slowly came back to the world of the living. When she popped her eyes open, she took note that he was fully dressed and lounging in the pillows, his laptop on his lap so he could work.

She let out a groan and buried her face into the pillow, feeling his hand running across her back repeatedly.

"I set some aspirin and water on your nightstand." He stated and she rolled her head sideways, peeking up at him from her pillow.

"Ugh."

"Yeah, you were pretty drunk last night when you came home." Peter laughed, his hand still moving soothingly across her back. She struggled into a sitting position and looked down at the shirt she was wearing, furrowing her eyebrows at the giant Yankees symbol on the front. "They won by the way."

"That's good." She yawned, running her hands through her hair and over her face. Her limbs felt heavy and she wanted to curl up into a ball so that she could just go back to sleep until she felt less like death and more like a human being. "Sorry."

"For what?" She scooted over and into the pillows, sitting next to him and leaning against his side. Her eyes peered at his screen and she realized he was working. God how long had he been awake waiting for her to join in?

"Being super drunk last night." She offered.

"Don't forget horny."

"Well that's pretty much a given, and I'm not sorry for that." She forced a smile onto her face but her brain felt mushy and she immediately dropped it. "Did we actually-"

"Nope." Peter shook his head. "You were in no condition, so I made you a sandwich and you pretty much passed out on the bed."

Riley nodded her understanding and let her eyes fall shut, basking in the feeling of him being right there next to her. She knew last night had been bad but she hadn't realized how much alcohol she had consumed until this very moment. Her head was pounding and she felt like absolute shit.

"Did I take my underwear off before I got home?" She pressed, wincing as his arm came around her shoulders. She let her head fall against his shoulder and blew out a sigh.

"You did, then when you got home, you threw them at me."

"Right." Sighing, she slunk down in the bed and pulled the covers up, hiding beneath them.

"Aspirin and water." Peter repeated and gave her head a gentle pat. "It's on the nightstand."

"Please just let me wallow for a minute longer?" She pleaded and before she could figure out what was happening, he had the covers pulled away from her head and a look on his face that she rarely saw. Was he legitimately concerned about her? She was _just_ hungover, severely so, it was nothing for him to worry about.

"I saw your pregnancy test." Peter blurted out and she stiffened next to him on the bed. He seemed to wait as she fumbled back into a sitting position, crossing her legs and resting her elbows on the insides of her knees.

"It was negative."

"I saw that too. I just want to make sure that your drinking last night had nothing to do with that." Peter pressed and she put her face in her hands, letting out a sigh. "Or if it did have something to do with the sheer amount you drank last night- talk to me."

"We can try it again." She leaned her head back, moving her hands away from her face. "We can go back to the clinic and do the whole artificial process all over again."

"And if it doesn't work this time?" He asked, and she knew that he was genuinely curious at this point in time. Sooner or later though, she figured he'd be more than just curious, he'd more than likely become frustrated. "What happens if it doesn't work this time?"

"Nothing, I don't know, we can do it as many times as we want."

"And how many times is that?" She could hear it in his voice. He was already getting emotional over this, not that she could blame him. When did it end for her? When did she decide to move on to the next step?

"One more time." She said with a nod of her head. "One more time trying artificial insemination, then we go to the next step."

"The next step." Peter echoed her words, and she pressed her lips together.

"In vitro."

"And how many times do we try that?"

She leveled him with a glare, "why are you talking like nothing is going to work? You don't know that it won't."

His face softened and he realized what she was suggesting. He didn't know what he was expecting her to say, but she had a point, he was already giving up before they even tried. It was all still so weird to him but she was the one struggling, she was the one who wanted a baby so bad she was willing to go through these processes, which were undoubtedly more uncomfortable for her than they were for him.

"How many times do we try in vitro?" Peter asked, his voice much softer than before. She let out a soft sigh and shrugged. "It's not that I don't want this with you, I just don't want to watch you get more and more defeated."

"I get that." She cocked her head sideways. "But I have to try. I just want this so bad."

"Then why don't we agree on a plan?" Peter tossed out and her body seemed to visibly relax. "You think two attempts with the whole artificial insemination thing, so what's a good number of tries for in vitro?"

Riley sucked in an anxious breath and considered his question. She hadn't put that much thought into it but she knew in vitro was way more expensive, which logically meant they should try it fewer times, but was once enough for her? Was twice?

"I don't know." Riley answered honestly. "What do you think?"

"Two?" He threw the number out but left it as more of a question.

"Two sounds…" she trailed off and seriously considered the idea of trying in vitro fertilization twice. It sounded like a fair number, but how desperate was she for a baby of her own? Could she move on after two attempts if nothing came from it? And if she did feel like she had to move on, what would be the step after that? "I don't know Peter. I don't even know what the hell's wrong with me. It's all so vague."

"Then we stick with two until we find more answers?"

She took his offer into consideration and slowly nodded her head yes. The idea of not being able to have a child of her very own was starting to terrify her. What if she honestly couldn't have children, even with all the invasive methods she was searching out? What was she willing to do in order to have a child?

Would she be able to adopt a child? Would that be the next idea to look into?

Why did it have to be so hard for her?

"I just want you to be okay." Peter said softly, extending his hand towards her and resting it on her knee. She met his eyes and nodded her head in understanding before placing her hand on top of his. "I want whatever makes you happy."

"Right now, that's you."

He smiled at her words and she crawled over to him, curling into his side and snuggling into his hold. Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and she blew out a breath, thanking god she had managed to find a man who understood her and was so patient with her.

"Did I ask for a lobster sandwich last night?" She asked in a low tone and he laughed at her question.

"You did."

"God, really? I don't even like lobster." She confessed and yet again Peter laughed at her. "That is the last time I'm getting that drunk."

"What about at your bachelorette?"

Riley snorted at him and shook her head. Okay, maybe he knew her better than she thought- no, scratch that, he knew her just fine and honestly, he probably had a point. She would definitely be going out and having one last hurrah like Morgan had done the night before, and it was very possible she'd drink just as much as she had the night before too.

"Well maybe for _my_ bachelorette, you'll make me some damn lobster." She teased and he wrapped his arm around her tighter, tucking her against his side as he pressed kiss after kiss along the side of her face. She squealed in delight and flailed slightly, knocking his laptop onto the bed beside his legs before crawling on top of him, straddling his thighs as he finally stopped his ministrations. "Hey so, I might not be drunk anymore but I'm pretty sure I'm still horny."

"I probably owe you for last night." He grinned.

"Definitely."

"Why don't we take this to the shower?"

Oh yes, a shower sounded really nice, and that's exactly what they'd do just as soon as she swallowed down her aspirin that he had left for her on her nightstand. What a gentleman he was.


	22. Chapter 22

A growl erupted from her throat so loud that she figured Peter had probably heard it from the room down the hall. When he came jogging into their bedroom, she knew she had him on high alert but it honestly wasn't that big of a deal.

"You good?" He asked, casually leaning against the door frame.

Riley dropped to her knees and pulled the skirt of the bed upwards, poking her head under the edge of it and looking for her shoes, the very shoes that she had worn to the gala all that time ago.

"I'm late." She ground out, taking one last look under the bed and seeing nothing of interest. When she sat back on her knees, she peered over her shoulder at him. "And I can't find my stupid shoes."

"You mean the shoes you set at the front door last night?" Peter prompted and her face fell. Oh yes, the very shoes she had taken down to the front door the night before so that she wouldn't forget them on her way to Sonny's mom's house. "Those shoes?"

Slowly making her way to her feet, she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a shy nod. He chuckled at her and pushed himself away from the doorframe, making a move to head back into the spare room where he was getting his own stuff ready for later. The groomsmen were all going to be getting ready for the wedding at their house and Riley was heading over to get ready with the bridesmaids at Sonny's mom's house.

She ran up to him and sidled up next to him, stopping him in his tracks and drawing his attention to her. When his arm banded around her waist, she let out a soft sigh and tried not to let the stress of this particular day get to her. She had Morgan's wedding dress to take with her, as well as her own Maid of Honour dress, plus her shoes (which were at the front door), she just didn't want to forget anything.

"I can't believe she's getting married today." Riley whimpered and Peter drew her into a full-on hug, holding her tight and offering her comfort that she was clearly seeking. "My little Mo is a grown ass woman today."

"Well I don't know that today is…yeah, you're right. But she deserves to be happy."

"Yeah Sonny definitely makes her happy." Riley nodded her head. "And she's going to look so pretty in her dress."

"She's like you, she'd look pretty in anything."

Riley scoffed at his clear attempt at sweettalk but she wasn't so sure he knew what he was talking about. She had outfits she didn't feel as pretty in, but how would he know that.

"Big old white wedding dress." Riley shook her head with a smile.

"You going to wear one for me one day?" Peter pressed and she took her bottom lip in between her teeth in thought.

Was she going to wear a wedding dress one day? Or was she going to push for a courthouse union without having to go through all the trouble of finding a gown for her special day? It wasn't like Peter had a lot of family they'd have to invite, in fact, she didn't have a lot of family she wanted to invite either, but did that mean she'd forfeit the idea of a wedding completely.

"I'll have to get back to you on that. Plus, white wedding dresses are associated with things like virginity and innocence." Riley snorted. "I am neither a virgin or innocent."

"Thank god for that." Peter teased, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze.

Riley smirked up at him but shook her head, getting her mind back on to the task at hand, "shit, I'm late."

"You mentioned that."

Riley ripped herself away from him and took off like a bat out of hell, running across the hallway to the room that was her office. She grabbed both dresses by the hangers, the two of them were hanging on the back of the door, and she continued on her way down to the front door, where her shoes were waiting.

Peter stood at the top of the stairs watching her and once her shoes were on her feet (there was no sense taking an extra pair) she paused, felt the dresses that were hanging over her arms and let out a sigh.

"I will see you at the church." Riley called out to him, and he took a few steps down the stairs, giving her a better look at him.

"Have fun."

She rolled her eyes, yeah, okay, she was way too worried to have fun, she had to get to Morgan at Sonny's mother's place with everything she needed without forgetting anything and then, maybe she'd feel a little better. Until then though, she would be on edge.

"Bye Peter." She shot him a wave and disappeared out the front door, leaving him all alone in the house where he would wait for Sonny and the other groomsmen to show up.

Riley bounded down to the driveway and threw open the back door of their newest addition to the family, a lovely little SVU, gently tucking the dresses into the backseat and slamming the door shut. She hopped into the driver's seat and started the car, backing out onto the road in front of their house.

She made quick work of getting to Sonny's mother's house, pulling into the driveway behind one other car. Huh well, she was expecting more people to be there already seeing as she was technically late, but oh well, they still had plenty of time to get ready.

Riley nabbed the dresses out of the car and headed right for the front door, Sonny's mother standing there with the door wide open for her. Riley tossed her a smile as she entered the house, pausing to catch her breath. She made it, and she was one of the first ones here, maybe today wouldn't be so stressful after all.

"Morgan's upstairs." Sonny's mom directed and Riley gave a nod of thanks, heading up the stairs in search of her best friend.

She could vaguely hear soft music coming from one of the rooms and Riley knew that's where Morgan would be. When she was standing just inside the doorframe to the room where Morgan was currently sitting at a small table, she couldn't help but smile. This was her best friend, she was getting married, and she was going to look so beautiful on her special day.

Lifting her one hand up, she knocked gingerly on the door, catching Morgan's attention. Morgan stood up and wandered over, taking her dress from Riley and hanging it up on the back of the door there. Riley carried her dress inside and laid it on the bed.

"I can't believe you're getting married today Morgan, fuck." Riley sighed as she flopped down onto the bed in one of the bedrooms in Sonny's mother's house, thankful that Morgan had been playing music or else she would've had to look harder to find her.

The wedding was in a few hours, and it was slated to take place in the Catholic church that the family attended most Sundays. Riley wasn't as concerned about it as she had been at her own house considering that she was here with Morgan, but it was clear that Morgan was hoping that everything was going to go off without a hitch- but if Morgan was honest with herself, she was figuring on something going wrong, she just didn't know what.

She just hoped that whatever that something was, it wouldn't affect her or Sonny being officially married. She wanted to be his wife, she wanted him to be her husband, it all sounded too nice and she prayed that at the end of the day, they'd be Mister and Missus Carisi without having to go through too much trouble to do just that.

With Riley being the first one here, the two of them were just waiting for the rest of the bridesmaids to show up, as well as the ladies that were supposed to do their hair and make-up. Morgan wanted to get ready, she wanted to _be_ ready, she wanted to walk down the aisle to Sonny and profess how much she loved him.

"I'm so excited." Morgan gushed and flopped down on the bed next to her friend. She let out a hum and turned her head to face Riley, who was already looking in Morgan's direction, a smile plastered on her face. "So freaking excited."

Her dress was hanging on the back of the door almost taunting her, and while the two girls waited patiently, they could hear noises from down the stairs. When the first sister- Bella- came waltzing into the room, the lady Morgan brought in for their hair was right behind her. A few seconds later, the make-up girl lugged her cases into the room too.

"You're going to be part of the family!" Bella squealed and Riley took over guiding the two ladies to where they could set up.

Morgan nodded her head in understanding and relaxed into the bed. She was only waiting for the other two remaining Carisi sisters to arrive at Sonny's mom's house so that they could all start to get ready. Her nails had been done the previous day but there was no way she could've gotten her hair done, no, it had to be perfect, which meant it had to be done the day of the wedding.

Oh god, the wedding. Morgan was excited, she was scared and nervous but she knew that Sonny was the one. She couldn't wait to have his last name, to make it official. Walking down the aisle couldn't come soon enough and tonight, they'd spend their first evening together as husband and wife. It was perfect, _everything_ was perfect.

"I'm getting married." Morgan whispered and lifted her left hand up into the air, looking carefully at the engagement ring that Sonny had put on her finger ages ago. It never ceased to amaze her but today, today there would be another ring joining it. "Married you guys."

"I know." Riley breathed the words out. "I'm so happy for you."

"To my brother." Bella grinned. "I think you probably could've picked someone better but he's an okay choice."

"He's a good guy." Morgan agreed.

"I can't believe you're actually getting legitimately married though." Riley looked at her friend, baffled by the concept. "You're going to spend the rest of your life with this guy, how is that not terrifying?"

"I don't know, it's just not." Moragn shrugged. "I can't wait though. I get to put on my gorgeous dress, I get to walk down the aisle to meet my wonderful husband, can you believe it Ry?"

Morgan peeled her eyes away from the ring on her finger and turned to look back at Riley, who was watching her friend carefully.

"I can." Riley nodded her head with a smile. "Sonny is the luckiest guy alive."

Morgan broke out into a smile of her own and she let out a soft sigh. Before she had a chance to warn Riley, she sat up on the bed and ran her hand through her hair, sucking in an anxious breath. Riley cautiously followed her lead and set her arm across Morgan's lower back, leaning her head against her shoulder.

"I'm glad you're here with me." Morgan confessed in a low tone and Riley hugged her tighter, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "You're going to be the best Maid of Honour ever."

"Yeah, you can return the favour when it's my turn." Riley joked but Morgan looked at her, her eyes narrowed and a serious look on her face. Okay, maybe Riley's teasing was lost on her friend, but it was going to happen, one day maybe, when she finally decided if she was even going to have a wedding of her own. Riley wasn't sure because it wasn't like her and Peter had a lot of people they wanted to invite.

Maybe their wedding would just be small, or maybe they'd just go to the courthouse and get hitched there. She still wasn't sure what she wanted.

Morgan sucked in a huge breath and leaned forward, making her way to her feet. She stood up and stepped away from the bed, wandering over to the door, the very door where her dress hung from. It was zipped away in a plastic cover but the beauty of it wasn't lost through the clear plastic. The dress was amazing, and Morgan knew it was the perfect garment for her.

Her mind wandered to the day that she had picked it out, with the help of Riley, Bella, Amanda and the other two sisters- well they hadn't really helped much at all, but they _had_ been there so they got a bit of credit for that.

She brushed them off for the time being and grabbed the bottom of the zippered bag, undoing it and releasing the lacy skirt part of the dress. Fingering the material, Morgan let out another soft sigh and felt her entire body relax at the thought of finally being able to say 'I do' to Sonny Carisi.

"Who's going first?" The hair lady asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. Morgan looked to Riley, who nodded her head yes and moved over to sit in the chair in front of the woman.

"Braid crowns." Morgan reminded her and the stylist smiled in understanding.

"I'm ready for make-up." The other woman announced and Morgan was quick to look at Bella. She wanted to admire her dress for just a little longer before she had to sit still and let the two women do their work on her.

Her mind drifted to Sonny and she couldn't help but smile. She was so happy with him and there wasn't a damn thing in the world that would change that. When he had proposed to her, she never would've imagined being _this_ excited to marry him, but here she was. There were no cold feet, no second thoughts, it just felt right to her and Morgan looked forward to their life together.

Sonny was nothing short of amazing, he'd give her the world if he could, and Morgan knew it. He always made sure she was okay, he never went to bed angry at her, not that they fought that much to start with, but suddenly it felt like everything was falling into place. Sonny was _the one_ and Morgan wasn't having any second thoughts at all.

There was no one out there better for her than Sonny.

"You're going to look so beautiful in your dress." Riley murmured and she settled in while the stylist began brushing and gathering her hair. She shot Morgan a smile but didn't move another muscle, remembering a time when she had been scared for the time when she would have to let go and pass Morgan off to Sonny. Yes he was gaining a wife but Riley was giving him her best friend.

"That's the goal." Morgan chuckled and stared at the elegant lace material. "I can't wait to put it on."

"I'm excited for that too." Riley beamed at her friend.

A silence fell over them all and it wasn't until the stylist was nearly done with Riley's braid crown that the last two remaining bridesmaids decided to show up. They walked into the room with their dresses hanging from their arms, the same plastic covering as Morgan's surrounded theirs, but the looks on their faces were almost joyful.

Well honestly, Morgan was not expecting that, she was expecting them to be bitchy and scowly.

"Sorry we're late." Gina confessed and Bella, who's make-up was now complete, stood up and greeted them with hugs. She whispered something in Gina's ear and Gina nodded her head, which only served to intrigue Morgan.

What would they be whispering about?

"I can take someone else." The make-up lady said, Morgan immediately sat down, not wanting to wait any longer to get herself pretty. A couple of minutes later, Riley stood up from her seat in front of the stylist and sat down on the bed instead, letting Bella go next, that way she could be done and ready, except for having her dress on of course.

A good chunk of time later, each and every girl in the room was made up and had their hair done, all that was left was to get the dresses on and go. Morgan sat on the edge of the bed and merely waited until the last possible minute to put her dress on.

She wanted to wait because she didn't want anything to happen to her beautiful dress and the less time she gave for bad things to happen, the better she'd feel about it. When Riley freed it from the hanger though, Morgan knew it was time. Everyone else was decked out in their black dresses that looked so elegant and gorgeous.

This was going to be a great day, and Morgan could feel it in her bones. Each girl was made up and their hair was done in a fancy braid crown, they were wearing their dresses and hell, even Gina and Theresa were smiling at Morgan. Whatever Bella had whispered to Gina earlier must have had something to do with that because honestly, she was expecting a lot more bickering and fighting than what she got, which was none.

"Oh my god." Bella whisper-hissed and Riley undid the back of the gown, giving Morgan a grin.

Morgan stepped over to her, stripped down to her underwear and stepped inside of it, letting Riley dress her as much as she could. She slipped her arms into the sleeves and once it was hugging her body, she stood stalk still, waiting for Riley to do it up. It even felt perfect, not uncomfortable or constricting but still making her look gorgeous.

Once Riley was done, she gave her a small pat on the shoulder and Morgan wandered over to the other side of the room, looking into the mirror that hung on the wall. She couldn't help but beam at the image of herself in her dress, all made up and everything. Riley wandered over with her veil and tucked it into the up-do that she had going on, which simply completed the look.

"Gorgeous." Riley murmured.

"I can't believe I'm getting married." Morgan stated, a permanent smile plastered on her face. "Seriously."

"Well believe it, because that's exactly what's happening today." Gina stated, but there was a total lack of malice in her tone. "Speaking of, we should probably get heading over to the church."

"Where I will erupt into flames." Riley teased, eliciting a laugh from Morgan- it was just what she needed at that moment. "Let's go."

The five of them walked out of the room and down the stairs, heading out to the driveway where a limo was waiting for them. The driver was none other than Sonny's uncle, who was doing him a favour on his special day. The girls all piled into the backseat, Morgan sandwiched in the middle and constantly smiling at the fact that she was going to be a married woman by the end of the day.

The limo moved quickly through the streets and when it pulled up to the church, Sonny's uncle opened the door for them and the five of them all headed inside, giddy from excitement. Morgan was immediately led into a room off the main hallway where she would wait until it was her turn to walk down the aisle, her bridesmaids getting comfortable in the room with her.

"Look, I just want to say that I'm going to behave today." Gina started, breaking the silence first. "I can put my animosity aside, especially on a day like today."

Morgan looked at her curiously and Riley snorted, "who threatened you?"

"No one." Gina shook her head at Riley's accusation. "Honestly. I just don't think today is a day where anyone needs to be bitchy."

"You swore in a church." Bella giggled and Gina rolled her eyes.

"I'm inclined to agree." Theresa said with a sigh. "If you're the woman Sonny's going to marry, the least we can do is not mess up your wedding day."

Morgan still wasn't sure she trusted what was going on, but it was definitely a step in the right direction. She smiled at them, not even bothering to care if they were being honest or not. Riley had her back here and now, and Barba would be very present later; at least if they were trying to lead her into a trap, she'd have reinforcements to help her out.

"Well thanks." Morgan bowed her head and a box containing their bouquets was carried in by Sonny's mother. She doled them out, handing Morgan hers last and giving her future daughter-in-law a kiss on the side of the head.

She was a proud mother, and she liked Morgan, it was definitely nice to have another decent mother figure in her life, seeing as her own was questionable at the best of times.

"We're almost ready." Sonny's mother stated, her eyes locked on Morgan. "Let's get you girls lined up."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

There was a sense of electricity in the air and Sonny was thankful that today was a nice day. Yeah it didn't matter if it was raining because the wedding was inside a church where no one could get rained on or weathered, but still, the sun was out, the weather was perfect, it was just a nice consolation prize.

He was extremely nervous though and found himself feeling hot, even if it wasn't hot outside, the importance of the next few hours of his life was weighing on him. He was waiting at the altar, which was, when it was broken down, just a sturdy hardwood floor with a fancy red carpet over it. Peter was right next to him as his best man, Gina's husband was next in line followed by Bella's boyfriend and Rafael Barba.

Riley was standing across the way as Morgan's Maid of Honour, Gina, Bella and Theresa were next to her. Everyone had already come down the aisle, now they were just waiting for Morgan herself to join them so that Sonny could finally make her his wife, something that very much excited him.

When the wedding march played out over the speakers, which were set up along the walls on either side of the church, Sonny's body tensed. This was it; this was the moment he had been waiting for ever since he had dropped down onto one knee and asked Morgan if she'd be his wife. He loved her so much, with every bit of his heart, and he was filled with excitement at the prospect of spending the rest of his life with her.

When Morgan stepped into his view, he swore to god his heart stopped and Sonny felt the breath rush out of his lungs. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't draw in any air, no, she was just so¸ _so_ beautiful in her wedding dress and Sonny was thankful that she was all his. He caught her mouthing the words 'I love you' as she was led down the aisle by her father, who was wearing a black suit, a gold coloured flower pinned to the outer jacket to match those decorating the venue, which were black and gold as well.

His eyes never left Morgan as she got closer and closer to him, stepping along with the music and when Morgan and her father made it to the front of the seating, she stopped and grinned at her father. Sonny barely heard the minister ask who gave her to him and when Morgan was passed to Sonny by her dad, he faltered, nearly stumbling as he held her hand and helped her get into position.

She stood in front of him and his jaw fell open as he took in the view of her up close. Her dress was simply breathtaking, the material looked soft and lacy, it hugged her in all the right places…it was just perfect. He had tried to imagine before he had seen her what Morgan might look like at this very moment and even his fantasy hadn't compared to the real thing. She was everything he wanted, and more.

"Hi." Sonny chirped, his voice catching in his throat. She smiled at him and he nearly had a heart attack, his heart skipping another beat. God, she looked amazing, she looked absolutely gorgeous.

"Hey." Morgan giggled back at him and he took hold of her other hand, rubbing his index finger over her ring finger, catching his nail on the diamond of her engagement ring.

"We are gathered here today…"

Sonny could just make out the words that the minister was saying, his eyes too busy looking at every god damn inch of the woman who was going to be his wife. She looked flawless and the longer he looked at her, the more he started to wonder if this was just a dream. It didn't _feel_ like a dream, but everything was just too good to be true.

He was marrying Morgan, the love of his life, and his newest best friend. What more could he ask for? What the hell could he possibly want in addition to the woman standing in front of him, willing to promise him her life?

"Do we have the vows ready?" The minister's voice pulled Sonny back to reality and he fumbled with Morgan's hand, letting it go momentarily as he produced his hand written vows from the inside pocket of his jacket. He unfolded the paper and held it in front of him, watching as Riley handed Morgan a piece of paper of her own. When Morgan had hers ready, _and_ Sonny held his firmly in his hand, the minister carried on. "Morgan, would you please recite your vows?"

"Sonny," Morgan paused and sucked in a breath, fighting back the urge to cry. He knew they were happy tears and at the sight of her eyes welling up, he felt his heart swell. This was the girl he was going to spend the rest of his life with and he didn't want anyone else. "Sonny, from the moment I first laid eyes on you, I always prayed that you would be my husband. As I stand in front of you at this very moment…"

She paused in her speaking and swallowed back a sob.

Riley reached out and ran her hand down Morgan's arm, giving her the support she needed, while Sonny gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm just so blessed that that dream came true. We've shared so much together, so many important life goals with one another and from this day forward I promise to care for you through the good and bad times, be loyal to you always, and share happiness and laughter with you. Most of all though, I promise to give you my love and support, and to cherish and respect you throughout our life together."

A small 'awe' sounded out from in the crowd and even Sonny couldn't contain the smile on his face. He loved her so damn much and hearing her speak those words just solidified his decision that she was the right girl. They were in this together, forever and always.

"And now, Sonny, would you please recite _your_ vows?" The minister urged him on and Sonny sucked in a breath.

He held it for a few seconds and tried to will his heart to stop pounding but it didn't, it merely continued to thrum in his chest, threatening to burst right out of him.

"Morgan," Sonny breathed her name out and sucked in another breath, hoping he could make it through without crying, which was going to be hard considering Morgan was already standing in front of him with tears running down over her cheeks, "The day that we met, I knew that you were special. We faced some hard things together, we made it through the tough reality of working together but nonetheless we managed to find one another, and fall in love."

Again, a chorus of 'awes' echoed from the crowd and Sonny smiled, his eyes never leaving the page where his vows were written. He feared that if he looked at Morgan, he wouldn't be able to keep himself composed, he just needed to make it through his vows, then he'd meet her eyes and face the music.

"Somehow, the stars aligned though and we made it work. I made a promise to you, a promise that as long as I'm alive you will never be alone, you will never question if you're beautiful, you will never doubt that you are worthy, and you will never wonder if you are loved. You are my love, my soulmate, my best friend and I believe you were brought into this world, destined to be loved by me. I will love you Morgan, always and forever."

"And now, for the rings." The minister spoke up and Sonny turned sideways, handing Peter the sheet of paper with his vows. He then looked right at Morgan and held his breath, wondering how he had managed to land someone as perfect as Morgan.

Sonny could only hear his heart pounding in his ears as the man marrying them said whatever he was supposed to say. His fingers fumbled and his hands shook as he took the ring from Peter and slipped it on Morgan's finger, reciting the words after the minister spoke them.

When Morgan went to put the ring on his finger, he noticed that her hands were shaking just as bad as his. Oh good, she was just as nervous and excited as he was, that was a really big relief for him. How lucky was he, how absolutely amazing was it that he had managed to find Morgan in his lifetime?

It wasn't until the minister announced that he could 'kiss the bride' that Sonny snapped out of his daze yet again and without hesitating for a second, he closed the distance between them, hauling her forward and holding her tight against his chest as he kissed her for the first time as her husband.

When they pulled away, Sonny could hear the crowd clapping and cheering, many of them on their feet. He glanced past Morgan and spotted Riley, smiling wide at him and giving him a nod, tears welling up in her eyes too. Without putting it off any longer, Sonny looped his arm through Morgan's and began leading her back down the aisle, music sounding out behind him.

He didn't stop moving until they were out of sight, hidden at the wall of the church where he quickly backed her up, pressing her against the wall before kissing her again. She let out a giggle and held on to him, letting his lips trail down over her neck and across her collar bone, his hands gripping her hips hard.

God she loved this man, and she wasn't going to let go of him, ever. They were married and Morgan couldn't have been any happier.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Everyone welcome Mister and Missus Sonny Carisi!"

The DJ's voice echoed through the speakers and the crowd gathered in the hall erupted into cheers and applause. Morgan looked nothing short of breathtaking in her wedding gown and while she clung to Sonny's arm, a giant smile plastered on her face, it wasn't hard to see that the woman was truly happy.

The ceremony had gone smoothly and all that separated her and Sonny from a great night was an uneventful reception, and so far, nothing had gone wrong. Even if it did though, Morgan wasn't the type of person who would get up in arms over the littlest thing going wrong, she was much too laid back, much too happy to be married, _finally_.

Loud, bass laden music began to play over the same speakers and Morgan reluctantly peeled herself away from Sonny, merging with the crowd of people and starting to mingle with the guests. There weren't all that many people as it hadn't been a _huge_ wedding; close friends, Sonny's family and their plus ones, and a few family members of her own, which included her dad and her mom. It was an intimate affair and Morgan was glad that she was now Missus Carisi.

She loved Sonny with all of her heart, and she was glad that they were going to get the chance to be husband and wife. There wasn't anything more that she could've asked for in the world and as she moseyed her way through the crowd, hearing people laughing and having a grand old time, she felt herself relax. This was her day, and she was happy, happy to have Sonny, happy that he loved her so much, and happy that they were going to be married for a long time to come.

"Mo!" Morgan spun around at her name and immediately locked her eyes on Riley, who was trying to make her way through the crowd, getting closer and closer to Morgan, who stopped moving and merely stood still, waiting for Riley to reach her. When she finally did, Morgan immediately moved in for a hug and Riley held her tight, basking in the feeling of her best friend being right there with her.

"Hi Ry." Morgan giggled and peeled herself away from Riley, but she locked her hand on Riley's wrist so that they wouldn't get too far from each other. She just wanted a minute with her best friend before the night really took off.

"God Mo, you look amazing, for real. You are the most beautiful bride ever." Riley smiled at her friend and Morgan matched it with one of her own. She was thankful to have Riley in her life. That's what best friends were, they were there when they needed each other and they made it through the tough times.

"Thanks." Morgan beamed at her and ran a hand across the front of her dress, feeling the lacy material against her skin. "I love this dress."

"Yes, it looks amazing on you, honestly when I heard you wanted a lace dress, I was picturing my grandma's tablecloth." Riley teased but paused, cocking her head to the side and pondering what she had just said. "But when I saw that dress on you in the store, I knew it was perfect, and nothing at all like a tablecloth."

Morgan narrowed her eyes in on Riley and shook her head at her, "not even the slightest bit."

Riley shrugged her shoulders in response and gave Morgan another hug before slipping her arm through hers. She didn't want to let Morgan get away from her, no, she was way too glad to see her friend so ecstatic to be married, so much so that part of her was maybe a tiny bit jealous. Would she ever get a wedding like Morgan? Did she even really want one?

The more she thought about it, and the longer she saw the excited smile on Morgan's face, the more she was starting to think maybe she wanted a wedding of her own, even if it was _just_ a small one.

"We should go mingle." Morgan suggested and Riley held her breath before giving a reluctant nod of agreement. "Just for a little while, then we can sit down at the head table and just enjoy the night."

"Sounds like a plan." Riley added with an amused snort. "Also, I want a drink _so_ bad."

Morgan turned her head towards Riley and slowly her lips curled upwards into a devious smile. It was a wedding, an Italian wedding at that, there was wine freaking everywhere she looked; on the tables, on serving trays, literally every which way she turned there was someone offering up wine.

"We can definitely have a glass." Morgan said in a low tone, her smile still very evident on her face.

"Hot damn, I was thinking we could have a shot of tequila, or maybe even a Jaeger bomb." Riley teased and shook her head in amusement. "Kidding, I can deal with wine, especially after your bachelorette party."

Morgan giggled at Riley's statement and proceeded to lead Riley towards the bar, which was set up near the back of the hall they had rented. The two of them got close enough to the bartender but didn't need to say a word to him as he had already set out a bunch of glasses of wine. Morgan nabbed a glass of white while Riley grabbed on to a glass of red and the two of them turned around, peering out at the party.

Morgan lifted the glass up to her lips and took a small sip, savouring the alcoholic beverage as she swirled it in her mouth. Riley followed her lead but she sucked back nearly half of the contents of the glass, swallowing it without hardly even tasting it, Morgan chuckling at her actions. Riley forced a smile onto her face and let Morgan take the lead, walking back out towards the core of the party.

Morgan could feel her body tight with excitement and when she peered sideways at Riley, her friend beamed at her. There was a reason they were best friends, they were inseparable and there wasn't anything that Riley wouldn't do for Morgan, or vice versa.

They were the sister's that the other never had and there wasn't anything that would ever get between them.

"You sure you don't want a Jaeger bomb?" Riley offered from beside her and Morgan let out a loud, obnoxious bark of laughter. "I'll take that as a no."

"I'm good Ry." Morgan let out a soft sigh but when Riley peered over at her, she took note that Morgan was grinning.

"We could do some shots with Bella, she's the fun sister." Riley teased.

"Riley," Morgan's attempt at scolding her held zero conviction and Riley kept her eyes locked on her, giving Morgan her undivided attention, "thank you."

"For what?" Riley scrunched up her nose in confusion.

"For being my friend."

"Well I'm lucky to have _you_." Riley countered and peered back at the bar. She shook her head and focused her attention on the group of people just a few feet in front of them, one of whom was Sonny.

Morgan bowed her head without saying anything else to her best friend. Riley slipped an arm around Morgan's back and moved along in step with her, the two of them closing in on the group not all that far away. People were laughing, conversing, generally having a good time and when they reached the edge of the small crowd, a server approached them with a tray of finger foods but neither girl made a move to take one. Morgan politely shook her head no and the server moved on, leaving the two of them alone to wander through the guests.

When Morgan spotted Sonny just up ahead, who was talking to Peter and Barba, as well as a couple of people from his side of the family, Riley stopped walking and forced Morgan to still as well.

"What's up?" Morgan asked in a murmur.

"Nothing." Riley responded in a low tone. "You-"

"Okay, what's up?" Morgan cut her off and gave Riley a slight glare.

"Nothing." Riley said defensively and when Morgan raised her eyebrows at her, she threw out a laugh. "I'm just enjoying being here with you, that's all, plus you're the prettiest girl in the room, why would I _not_ want to be hanging off your arm."

"I see how it is, you're not ready to let me go just yet?" Morgan smirked. "Look though, Peter's right there, maybe he can entertain you while I go and say thanks to everyone else. Ry, just because I'm married, doesn't mean I still won't be your best friend."

Riley's lips curled upwards into a smile but she shook her head. Morgan was absolutely right, she was her friend, married or not, and that wasn't going to change. There was just so much on Riley's mind that she wanted to tell Morgan but she didn't know how. Everything was moving too fast; now that Morgan was married, how much longer until she had kids of her own?

She'd be happy for Morgan, obviously, but she knew it would hurt her too. Why did having kids have to be something hard for her?

"It's okay, you go, I'm going to grab another drink." Riley suggested and Morgan narrowed her eyes in on her friend, who raised her hands in surrender. "I just want something a little stronger than wine, that's all, I promise I'll come find you soon."

After giving Riley a quick once over, the girl took off, leaving Morgan on her own. She moseyed on over towards Sonny and set her arm across his back, leaning against his side as he lifted his arm up and rested it on her shoulders. Morgan sent a smile in Peter's direction and jerked her thumb in the direction that Riley had just wandered off in.

"Where'd you disappear to?" Sonny quipped, readjusting his arm on her shoulders ever so slightly, just so that it was more comfortable for them both.

"I was just chatting with Riley." Morgan answered, letting out a soft sigh of contentment. She curled into Sonny's side further and let her eyes fall shut as she simply basked in the moment, loving the fact that she was his wife, and he was her husband. They were married, they had vowed to love each other forever, it was just too good of a feeling.

"You look amazing Mo." Sonny remarked and she beamed with pride. "That is the most amazing dress I've ever seen."

"Thanks." She grinned. "You don't look too bad yourself Sonny Bunny."

"Truly, you look amazing." Peter added in.

Morgan felt like a queen in her gown, but still, she wasn't about to turn down some lovely compliments. Sonny was everything to her and suddenly she knew why Riley seemed a little down. She was losing her best friend, yes, Morgan was moving on, Morgan was going to be spending less and less time with Riley now that she was married but surely it wouldn't be all _that_ different seeing as they already moved out of their apartment months ago.

"I should go find Riley." Peter announced and Morgan shook her head no. "No?"

"She just went to get a drink, I'm sure she'll come back this way." Morgan answered. "Plus I like you and Sonny feeding me compliments on my dress."

"A drink…" Peter dropped his eyes downward but he didn't make a move to leave. Riley had gone to get a drink, it seemed innocent enough, but he knew Riley was dealing with some deep issues lately, which were more than she was willing to share with Morgan. "It's definitely your dress, you look amazing."

"Yes, no thanks to Sonny's sisters, they tried to get me into some tacky chandelier looking thing." Morgan teased. "Thank god Ry put a stop to me trying that on as soon as she saw it."

"My sisters aren't Morgan's biggest fan." Sonny pointed out, just to clear the air. "I can't picture you in anything else Mo, you really do look like my perfect bride."

Peter tossed them both a smile and raised the glass in his hand, "Well congratulations are in order."

Morgan grinned at him and gave Sonny's chest a gentle pat. She wouldn't have wanted any other man to share her life with and now that Sonny was officially hers, she was ecstatic, a permanent smile stuck on her face.

This was one of the greatest days of her life and she didn't want it to end.

When she peered up at the small stage a mere twenty feet away, she spotted Riley talking to the DJ who was perched near the side of it. Before she could figure out what her friend was doing, the DJ handed her the microphone and the music slowly faded away to nothing, leaving Riley standing in the centre of the stage looking out at the crowd.

"Hey everyone." Riley plastered a smile on her face as she addressed the crowd, but her eyes were glued to Morgan. "It's time to get started on speeches and as the Maid of Honour, the _best_ friend to the bride, I volunteered to go first, so, without further ado, here we go."

Riley hesitated for a second and sucked in a breath, her index finger moving slightly against the side of the microphone.

She continued to hold Morgan's eyes and breathed out, "Morgan, you're my best friend, we've known each other a long time and there isn't anyone else on this entire planet who I would want to take your place, not even Aaron Judge, the Yankees outfielder, as cool as that would be. You have been my better half for as long as I can remember and I appreciate the fact that you've put up with me for this long. I love spending time with you, I love being your friend, your confidante, and the girl that you trust the most. I love how badass we think we are when we're together, but most importantly, I love that you've managed to find someone who makes you as happy as Sonny Carisi does."

Morgan lifted a hand up and pressed it against her chest, directly over her heart. She turned her head and peered at Sonny, who looked down at Morgan with a smile on his face.

"Sonny, you are good for Morgan, you are the perfect match for her, and you make her happy. I think you two will have a wonderful life together and I, for one, cannot wait to see what you do with it. Congratulations you two!"

The crowd erupted into a fit of applause and Riley waited on the stage for someone to follow her. Sonny's mother was quick to get to her feet, rather spry for an older woman. She gingerly took the microphone from Riley's grasp, smiling as Riley made her way off the stage and into the crowd, immediately heading in Peter's direction.

His mother hesitated but lifted the microphone towards her lips, "thanks so much for coming to share in the joy and joining of Sonny and Morgan."

She paused, letting the crowd applaud her greeting. Morgan couldn't help but smile at her mother-in-law, Sonny's grip on her tightening ever so slightly as he watched on too.

"As a mother, one of my proudest moments was when I had Sonny, my charming little prince. His birth brought so much joy, peace and sense of belonging. My mind goes back to when he was a baby and several times at night, I'd wake up and look into his beautiful, smiling eyes and be completely overwhelmed with a sense of wonder, joy and responsibility for my extraordinary child."

Morgan let out a small 'awe' sound and leaned into Sonny's arms further. She was proud of him too and watching his mother up on the stage, she knew she was as well. He was a great man; Morgan would never deny that.

"I must admit that raising you and your sisters hasn't been a smooth ride at all, just look at my hair if that doesn't tell you something. Each day came with its own challenges but I was determined to lay down my life for you kids so you could become successful. Today is the day to rejoice in knowing that my dreams for you have come true, today is the day to rejoice in knowing you are married to this beautiful woman."

Sonny took a slight step towards the stage, a smile gracing his face and his eyes welling up with tears. Morgan reached up and pressed a reassuring kiss against his cheek, reminding him that she was right there and she was listening just as intently as he was to his own mother saying some of the sweetest things she'd ever heard a mother say.

"Morgan, thank you for being there for Sonny. I love you and want to thank you for bringing out the best in him. I admire your sense of honesty, empathy and integrity and I trust that you are going to be an amazing wife. I'd like to welcome you and your family into our hearts and home. We love you so much! I wish you well and may God bless you both!"

The crowd erupted in gracious applause and Morgan reluctantly peeled herself out of Sonny's grasp, moving to stand in front of him, her eyes locked on his. He couldn't stop smiling and when she tipped her head back, he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers.

When he pulled back, he cocked his head sideways at the sight of Rafael Barba giving his mother a hug as she exited the stage. What? No, no his best man was Peter Stone, who would be much more gracious with his words than Barba. Okay, so maybe this would be good, it's not like he couldn't use a laugh on top of everything, right?

"Before I begin, I must admit that Sonny and Morgan have asked that I remove anything resembling innuendo from this speech. I've promised if I come across anything even slightly risqué, I'll whip it out immediately." Barba joked and the loudest laugh came from Morgan herself. In a room full of Catholics, it was a miracle he managed to get a laugh at all, then again, Morgan wasn't Catholic. "I do have to say just how lucky Sonny is: he leaves here today with a wife who is warm, loving and caring. And Morgan, how lucky you are as well: you leave here having gained a lovely dress and a wonderful bouquet of flowers."

Morgan snorted at his words and even Riley's laughing was getting louder. Soon enough a good half of the guests were chuckling, whether it was out of politeness or because they were actually finding Barba funny though, that was up in the air.

"We all know Morgan is a wonderful lady who deserves the perfect man, it's too bad you don't always get what you deserve." Barba carried on and he paused for a second, dropping the microphone away from his face before getting a better grip on it and lifting it back up. "In all seriousness, I've known Sonny for a long time and in that time, he's become like a brother to me. I'm so glad Sonny found someone who makes him as happy as Morgan does. May you have a long and prosperous marriage."

Barba let out a sigh on stage and looked out into the crowd. Morgan followed his gaze and cocked her head sideways at the sight.

When Morgan spotted her dad heading up to the front of the stage, she furrowed her eyebrows. He didn't hesitate though and took the microphone from Barba's hand, who let it go without a fight and walked off to the side, hopping down to the floor and watching as Morgan's dad began to speak, following his speech with one of his own.

Morgan was a more than a little bit shocked when her dad made his way to the stage; hell this could either be really good for her or go terribly wrong; it wasn't like she had heard her dad say that much about her as a child, and she _knew_ what her mother thought of her. Holding her breath, she prayed that this wouldn't be a catastrophe. Sonny extended his hand to Morgan and she took it, squeezing it in her own as the two of them looked up at Morgan's father, who was tearing up on the stage just in front of them.

"My baby girl," He paused and sucked in a nervous breath, "when you were little I always knew you deserved the best, you needed someone who would love you with all their heart, who would take care of you when the time came and who would protect you from the dangers of the world. I believe, wholeheartedly, that you have managed to find that with Sonny."

He paused and turned to the side of the stage, clearly trying to gather his composure. Morgan was shocked, clearly underestimating how much her father actually cared about her. She hadn't realized how hard it must've been for the man to have given up his baby girl, to hand her over to some other man to look after and take care of; but that's what he had done. His words were beautiful but unexpected.

It didn't matter though, it was clear that he wanted Morgan to be happy, and that's exactly what she was.

"You will always be my little girl, but now, now you have someone who I am confident will take care of you better than I can, and ever could. Sonny, you know how precious what you and Morgan have is and there isn't another man that I would ever feel comfortable with handing my little girl off to. May you have a long lasting and wonderful marriage together."

Before the man could hand the microphone off to anyone else though, the DJ waved his hand at him and motioned for him to come closer. Morgan watched carefully and moved closer to the stage, dragging Sonny behind her. She knew what was about to happen and she couldn't wait for her first dance as husband and wife.

When the starting chords of their song sounded out from the speakers, Morgan turned to face Sonny and curled herself into his chest, letting him hold her against him.

"Ladies and gentleman, Morgan and Sonny Carisi taking their first dance as man and wife." Her father announced and James Arthur's 'Say You Won't Let Go' played through the air.

Morgan tipped her head back and peered up at Sonny, taking her bottom lip in between her teeth. He used his right hand to gently tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, all the while the tune of the song lulled him into relaxation and the lyrics reminded him of how truly lucky he was to have Morgan as his wife.

"I love you Sonny." Morgan whispered and rested her head against his shoulder.

"I love you too Morgan."

"Mrs. Carisi." Morgan grinned and set her palm against his chest, drumming her fingers against him.

"God do I ever love the sound of that."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

It was late by the time the reception party died down and by the time Riley wandered through the front door of her house, it was nearly three in the morning. Peter trailed along behind her, following her until she was inside their bedroom, where she quickly flipped off her high heels and bent down to grab them. He took them from her hand and moved to the closet, placing them inside with the rest of her shoes.

"How'd you get out of making a best man speech?" She asked, closing in on him and turning her back to him. "Can you unzip me?"

His fingers gingerly trailed down the zipper and he leaned forward, whispering in her ear, "I made a deal with Barba."

"Yeah, no I got that."

"He wanted to do it. I just made him promise that he wouldn't just roast Sonny the entire time." Peter laughed. Riley slipped the dress down her arms and let it fall to the floor, heading for the bed and grabbing her sleep shirt off her pillow. She pulled it on over her head and then, with her body covered, she freed herself from the strapless bra she had worn for the wedding. "He knows Sonny better than I do, definitely longer."

"Pfft." Riley reached up and tried to pull the bobby pins out of her hair without using a mirror. She managed to find just a couple before giving up and stepping in front of the mirror mounted on the wall behind the dresser. "You know him well enough to say nice things about him, hell, even I could've given a best man speech: Sonny, you are a great man, a great ADA and a great cuddler."

"How would you know if he's a good cuddler?" Peter leveled her with a glare and she threw her head back in laughter.

"I just assume that; before they started dating, he'd wind up sleeping with Mo in her bed, innocently enough because they were both fully clothed, but like obviously a man like that has mad cuddle skills." Riley explained and leaned forward, looking intently into the mirror as she gently prodded at the braid crown. "And he's got gangly arms, they're probably perfect for wrapping around girls."

"Is this really stuff you think about?" He asked with a smirk.

She shrugged at his question, knowing that he probably already knew the answer. She was an awkward girl sometimes and yeah, she thought about some things that normal people might not think about, but what did it matter? It's not like she was thinking about Sonny in a romantic way, more of a 'is he a good candidate for my best friend' way and she had easily concluded long ago that Sonny Carisi was perfect for Morgan.

"When your best friend tells you that she likes a guy, you obviously look into him." Riley snorted.

"Look into him?"

"That sounded…" She trailed off and turned her attention towards Peter, who was still smirking at her. "I wasn't going to let her date an ugly guy."

"Even if said ugly guy was in fact, a really nice guy?"

With a glare in his direction, she grabbed hold of the actual braid and started to pull on it, trying to loosen it enough to get the bobby pins in her grasp. When she tugged a little harder, she felt the braid come free from against her head and easily began picking the pins out of her hair.

"No." Riley shook her head. "Some really attractive guys are assholes, I know that first hand."

"Is that supposed to be a dig at me?" Peter asked with a chuckle and she immediately shook her head no. When she met his eyes, she wasn't even remotely amused at his question.

"You're not an asshole at all." She pointed out. "Like _at_ all. You're pretty much the nicest guy ever who also happens to be super attractive."

"Pretty sure some of the people I've faced in court would disagree."

"You've never been an asshole to me." She corrected. "Honestly, you're like the most patient person ever. I'm not easy to deal with and- hey I don't even think I've ever seen you mad."

Peter, who had taken off his suit jacket, was working away at the buttons on his shirt but he paused as she studied him. Surely he had been mad in front of her before? But wait, maybe…she had a point, it took a lot to make him full on mad and maybe she _had_ never seen it before. It's not like Riley would've been in court all that much to witness him, but even then, it wasn't like he was constantly mad.

She freed her hair from the braid and ran her fingers through it, grabbing the last few remaining bobby pins before setting them on the dresser with the rest of the ones she had picked out. She then grabbed a brush and ran it through her locks, which were wavy from being in a braid for most of the day.

"You're just not an angry person in general." She offered. "It's a good thing, especially for me because, like I said earlier, I'm not easy to deal with."

"You're fine." He stated, but there was a hesitation to his voice. Was she a difficult person to deal with? Honestly, he didn't find her difficult. Sure there were times when she was all over the place, or maybe her ideas had been misguided, but there was never a time when he questioned why he was with her. He loved her, it was that simple.

"I think we just work really well together." She grinned. "Like Mo and Sonny Bunny."

"Definitely helps that you don't call me Peter Rabbit."

"Well that would be weird." Riley nodded, stepping away from the dresser. She closed in on him and took over unbuttoning the last few buttons on his shirt, while he merely stood in front of her, studying her face. "You're just Peter."

"And you're my Thumper." He chuckled and she lightly slapped his chest. "We go at it like a pair of rabbits-"

"Are you complaining?" She cocked her head sideways and finished with the last button, letting him shed the shirt, dropping it to the floor. "Because I can slow down."

"God no."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." She grinned once again. "Come on, get your pants off and join me in bed."

He let out laugh and watched as she disappeared into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. He loved her, a lot, and this whole wedding thing had gotten him thinking, he just wasn't sure how to breach the subject.

Did he want a wedding? Honestly, he did, even just a small one. He wanted to watch her walk down the aisle in a beautiful dress, he wanted to spend the evening celebrating their marriage, he wanted to eat cake and have a great big fancy dinner to share with their family and friends.

But he didn't want to force her into having a wedding if she didn't really want one.

By the time she wandered out of the bathroom, her hair in a loose ponytail, he was wearing nothing more than a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. She hopped onto the bed and sat on top of the covers, looking at him as he disappeared into the bathroom to do the same things she had just done.

"Can you believe they're going to Venice for their honeymoon?" She called out to him but waited a few beats for him to finish brushing his teeth. When he stepped back into the bedroom, she made her way onto her knees and met him at the edge of the bed. "How romantic right?"

"Where would you go?" Peter asked.

"For a honeymoon?" She countered. "I don't know. Paris, but that's sort of cliché. Maybe Ireland or Scotland, I hear they're pretty nice."

"Well do you _want_ a honeymoon?"

"Actually, I think I do." She nodded her head and set her hands on his shoulders, meeting his eyes, which were locked on her. "And I think I want a wedding, mostly because I want a wedding dress and new shoes."

"A dress and new shoes, that's what you want from a wedding, not to proclaim your undying love for me?" He baited and she drummed her fingers against him.

"I would love to stand up in front of everyone and tell you how much I love you." She smiled softly. "So long as I had a bitching dress and sexy new 'fuck me' heels to wear when I did so."

Lifting a hand up, he set it on the side of her neck and ghosted his thumb across her jaw, "then we go to Paris, or Ireland, or Scotland and-"

"Fuck each other ten ways to Sunday." She finished with a snicker. "Is that what you want?"

He shook his head in amusement at her but nodded his head. Yes, that was exactly what he wanted and he wanted it all with her.

"You'd get a white dress right?" He pressed.

"Uh even though I'm not virginal or innocent? Is that allowed? Am I allowed to wear white?" She quipped. "I'd consider it but honestly, white, off white, whatever, I don't even know what I'd be looking for in a dress- no wait, not true, I want a big ball gown, with lots of sparkles."

"So do it."

She stared at him, cocking her head sideways, "we don't have a date or anything picked out."

"Do that too."

"You do it." She scrunched up her nose at his demand.

"October seventeenth."

"What?"

"I pick October seventeenth." He stated casually. "You said do it, I just did it."

Riley dropped her head but let out a low laugh at him. She lifted her chin and let out a soft sigh, not entirely sure what she was supposed to do at this point. She wasn't opposed to October seventeenth, not even a little bit, but was he expecting her to just agree? Was that what he was hoping for.

"Okay." She nodded.

His eyes widened ever so slightly, "really?"

"I feel like this probably isn't the most effective way to plan a wedding but yes really." Riley stated. "While we're at it, what about colours?"

"Blue and silver?"

"Navy blue, like Yankees blue."

"Not Cubs blue, agree."

"Morgan's obviously my Maid of Honour."

"Sonny as best man."

"My mom will totally give me away."

"Venue?"

"October is usually cooler, so inside, uh, I don't know if I like the idea of a church but I'm open to whatever."

"Are we really doing this?" He pressed, moving his hands to take gentle hold of her wrists, keeping her palms flat against his chest. "Is this really how we're going to plan our wedding?"

Riley let out a laugh and shook her head with a smile, "my lord, there's way more details to figure out but we have a starting point."

"Good." Peter gave a firm nod of his head. "I feel like we've done everything backwards."

"What?" She cocked her head sideways.

"We moved in together, we're trying to have a baby, all before we're married." Peter pointed out. "Backwards."

She shook her head, not even caring if he believed they did things backwards. She liked where they were and she was excited to marry him. She wanted a big fancy dress, she wanted to walk down the aisle to him and see his face when he laid his eyes on her. She wanted it all, so long as it was with Peter Stone.

"Backwards is more fun." She laughed. "Definitely more fun."


	23. Chapter 23

Venice, for god's sake, they were in Venice and Morgan couldn't have been happier.

Her idea for a honeymoon had originally been Hawaii but someone had mentioned that Hawaii was _so_ boring, especially when it came to honeymoons- and maybe Riley had been right, Venice was so much more exotic, so much nicer and plus, she loved Italy, which was evident by the fact that her new husband was Italian.

Morgan let out a giggle and shook her head at Sonny, who was sitting on the end of the bed looking out their giant plate glass window at the beautiful scenes outside. She threw a smile at him before dropping down to sit next to him, wondering what she was going to do now that they were officially in Venice for the next two weeks.

She gave his leg a rough pat and shook her head, the smile permanently stuck on her face for the time being.

"Jesus, I can't believe we're actually here, and for two whole weeks." Morgan beamed.

"Two uninterrupted weeks with my wife, my very own Mrs. Carisi." Sonny countered and she found herself blushing at her new last name. It was so surreal, she couldn't believe everything had happened so smoothly, so easily and now here they were in Venice celebrating the fact that they were married.

"I hope your prepared for lots of sex." She grinned and leaned against his side, feeling relaxed as his arm came around her shoulders. "Like _lots_ of it."

"I will go until I literally cannot go anymore." He remarked, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze. "Then we can eat and I'll go some more."

She tipped her head back at let out a low laugh at him. Yes, this was going to be the best two weeks with Sonny ever.

"Well, you'll get a break every now and then, we have a gondola ride booked, and some sights to see…" She stated, letting her thoughts trail off. "But when we get back here at the end of the days, we can definitely have hot sweaty married sex."

"I like the sounds of that."

She sat on the bed for a minute longer, the two of them basking in silence, just staring out the window at the picturesque Venice outside the window. It was gorgeous, and Morgan couldn't wait to get out there the following day and experience it with Sonny.

She let out a soft sigh and stood up, letting Sonny move upwards on the bed. He got himself comfortable and when she looked back at him (after tearing her eyes away from the window), Sonny was lounging on the bed, his eyes shut as he laid stretched out, his upper body resting in the pillows. Their suitcases, which the hotel staff had brought up for them, were on the floor beside the bed and without making much of a sound, Morgan wandered closer to look over their suitcases.

"Can you believe we're actually married?" Morgan questioned in sheer amazement. She bent over to grab the handles of her suitcase, lifting it up to set it on the bed next to his legs. "I mean, it doesn't feel like all that long ago that I professed my love for you outside your apartment and then didn't speak to you for days."

"Thank god that's in the past, that night was terrible." Sonny let out a laugh and popped open his eyes, looking at Morgan with a smirk. "I still can't believe you thought I had some random woman in my apartment and not just my sister."

Morgan nodded her head at him, wondering why she hadn't just given him a chance to explain right from the beginning. It didn't matter, at the time she had been too hurt, but in hindsight, it did seem ridiculous. Sonny had blown off Amanda for her, he had stayed with her multiple nights just cuddling with her, he had been more than just a friend.

He smiled at her and she felt her heart swell. Sonny made her happy, she didn't want anyone else, just him, until her last breath. He was perfect in her eyes and she loved him for who he was. Marrying him had been a dream come true and she couldn't stop thinking about how amazing their wedding day had been; her in her amazing dress, him in his sexy suit- just perfection.

"And how about those wedding speeches. I can't believe Rafi said something so nice." Morgan remarked softly, making quick work of the zipper on her suitcase. She flipped the flap open and peered down at her clothes, her toiletries bag residing on top of her folded garments. "I still don't know how I feel about that speech from my dad."

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't expecting my best man speech to be given by someone who wasn't my best man either." He murmured.

"Give Rafi credit, he could've been a _lot_ meaner." She shrugged.

"True, it was a nice enough speech." Sonny carefully pushed his body forward so that he was sitting upright. He looked at Morgan and studied her expression and for him, it wasn't hard to see that she was way too happy for anything to ruin their first night in Venice.

She gave him a firm nod of her head and grabbed her toiletries bag, setting it on the bed next to her suitcase. Sucking in a breath, she lowered her butt down and sat down on the edge of the mattress, Sonny pressing a kiss against the back of her shoulder, trying to reassure her that everything was just fine on his end too. He didn't want her to think he wasn't _just_ as happy as she was.

"I liked it. I liked all the speeches, I think." Morgan bowed her head, gripping her toiletries and opening it up. She looked inside, making note that all of her soaps, shampoos and toothpaste were at the top. When she dug in further, she found her toothbrush, deodorant and sunscreen.

"I'm a little surprised your mom didn't cause any drama." Sonny pushed, moving one hand up to rub over her back. Morgan let out a soft sigh and nodded her head.

"I know." She said softly and let out a small yawn. "God, flying wipes me out."

"So have a nap." He offered. "I'll stay right here with you."

Morgan let out a snort, "I want to unpack a little first."

Sonny chuckled at her as if to say 'do what you want' but he moved away from her, readjusted himself on the bed and relaxed back into the pillows. Morgan remained sitting down for a moment longer before standing up and taking her toiletries with her.

She disappeared out of the bedroom, leaving Sonny alone on the bed in their hotel room in Venice. He was so excited to be in Italy, he just loved the country, loved the city of Venice and he couldn't wait to spend two weeks here with Morgan. Letting out a small yawn of his own, he shook his head and peered down at his left hand, his eyes landing on the golden wedding band that currently adorned his finger.

Morgan was it for him and he'd do whatever he could to make sure the rest of their life together was happy.

When Morgan finally came back into the bedroom, Sonny immediately took note that she had a frantic expression on her face. He studied her but remained quiet, waiting for her to voice her concern before he pestered her about it. In all of his time knowing Morgan, he knew it was better for her to come to him, to be patient because chances were good that she was taking a few seconds to gather her thoughts.

She moved to stand in front of her suitcase and grabbed a stack of clothes, pulling them out and setting them on the end of the bed. She shook her head and peered into the pockets on the inside of her suitcase, clearly looking for something specific that she apparently couldn't find.

Letting out a growl of frustration, she moved on to the pockets on the outside of her suitcase, unzipping them, pulling out the contents and looking inside to make sure she hadn't missed anything.

"God dammit." Morgan grumbled and moved back to the inside pockets of her suitcase, checking yet again for whatever she was looking for.

"Mo?" Sonny said softly, catching her attention. She jerked her head upwards and looked at him, taking her bottom lip in between her teeth. "Talk to me here."

"I can't find…" she let her sentence trail off as she grabbed the sides of his suitcase, hauling it upwards and setting it on the bed next to hers. She continued to let her sentence hang as she ripped open the top of his and grabbed for his smaller bag containing toiletries.

"Mo." Sonny spoke up again and turned slightly towards her.

"My pills Sonny, I can't find my pills."

"Okay."

"Not okay!" She shot back and threw her arms up in defeat. "I don't remember packing my birth control."

Sonny sat up once again and leaned forward, trying desperately to get closer to Morgan. She still seemed frantic as she wandered over to the table in the corner of their hotel room, her hands gripping either side of her oversized purse, which doubled as a carry-on, and hauled it open.

She seemed to dig around inside but when she let out a sigh of frustration, he knew she hadn't found what she was looking for.

"I have condoms." He pointed out, trying to keep her calm, to help her with her current situation.

"Yeah, great, it's not…it's not the same thing."

"Mo, it's okay."

"No it's fucking not." She growled at him, turning her back to him and crossing her arms over her chest, clearly upset by the fact that she had forgotten to pack something so important. "I don't…"

"Well, what if you just didn't worry about it?" Sonny quipped, his voice trying to remain casual but inside he was nervous for how she would respond.

"What are you talking about?" She turned around and leveled him with a curious look. Well she didn't seem mad at him for suggesting it, but did that mean he was out of the woods?

"I mean, we're married now, we've been together for a while…why don't we try-"

"You want a baby, right now?" She cut him off. "Sonny, we literally just got married like twenty-four hours ago."

"Then we'll use condoms." He shrugged, remaining calm. There was no sense in showing his cards if he didn't have to.

She let out a scoff and shook her head, "it's not just that, it helps with my period."

"Well if you're pregnant, you don't get periods."

Her eyes widened at his logic. As if it was that simple. Yeah being pregnant meant not having periods, but it also meant lots of others things that she'd have to deal with instead. She cocked her head sideways and lifted a hand up to silence him and he raised one of his own hands in surrender. He wasn't going to force her and if she didn't want to try then he wasn't going to push it.

"I don't…" she let her words trail off yet again and sucked in a breath, "I don't know Sonny Bunny. It's not that I don't want to have kids with you, it's just…doesn't this seem a little fast?"

"Lots of babies get conceived on honeymoons but I'm leaving it up to you Mo. I'm game for whatever, your body, your choice."

Morgan shook her head as she contemplated his words. Was he really saying that he wanted to try for a baby now? They were barely even married, but then again, it wasn't like they hadn't spent the last little while together and they had been so happy together, so perfect.

She continued to think his proposition through. They could have a baby, they were mature enough, he was older than her and probably more than willing to start the family phase of his life, but then again, so was she. The idea of having a baby- well, was the thought of having a baby really that scary?

Peering over at Sonny, she gave him a once over. She wasn't exactly planning to have a baby so soon, but then again, the idea of having a family with Sonny was something she had wanted for a little while.

"We can just let nature take its course." Sonny suggested. "Or we can use protection."

Morgan sucked in a breath, "let me think about it for a little while?"

"Obviously Mo." He chuckled. "It's all on you."

Shaking her head, she scoffed, "yeah, no pressure or anything."

Sonny could only laugh at her as he relaxed back into the pillows, Morgan giving in and flopping down next to him. She curled up against him, wrapping her hands around his arm and holding on to him, letting her body relax against the heat from his.

"Only if you want." Sonny murmured, leaning his head over towards her and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

She let her own eyes fall shut and a sigh escaped her. Was it something she wanted? Did she want to have a baby? Well, if she was honest with herself, it was definitely not a no, and much to her delight, the idea sounded quite nice.

"Nature." She said softly and he leaned in closer to her, if it was even possible. "Let's let nature take its course."

Sonny could only smile at her.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Sonny was excited to be back at work. Of course he _had_ enjoyed his time off and hadn't _wanted_ to come back, he just wanted to spend more and more time with Morgan, but reality was a bitch. Alas, she was heading back to work the next day, which meant she'd be facing reality again soon too, just like he was now.

His first stop was his office to drop off his briefcase and jacket, then he was heading right to Peter's office to check in, after all, a lot could've happened in two weeks and Sonny needed a run down on what was going on. His cases could've changed, sure, but he was expecting to be handed more cases because that was his job and he had been gone for two weeks. No one was going to go easy on him just because he was a married man.

In fact, maybe that gave him more to prove. He had to worry about looking after himself _and_ Morgan, was it more responsibility? Yes, especially if they ended up having a baby in the near future. They were certainly trying, but Sonny knew it didn't always come easy to women, just like it didn't for Riley.

Approaching Peter's office, Sonny knocked on the door and waited to be called in, once he was, he strode into the office and saw the smile on his boss's face at the sight of him.

"Venice? How was it?" Peter questioned immediately. Neither he nor Riley had spoken to the couple very much while they had been gone, he wasn't bothered by them being absent but Riley had taken to baking to pass the time in the evenings when she'd normally be texting with her best friend. He had a nice brownie in his lunch to prove it.

"It was amazing, highly recommend you should go sometime. Take a gondola ride, eat some genuine Italian food, it's just awesome."

"Good, you looked relaxed." Peter joked and Sonny dropped down to sit in the chair across from him. "You ready to get back to work?"

"Yeah, I'm ready, I just think there's one thing I need to tell you first, get it off my chest, you know?"

Peter cocked his head at Sonny but his ADA didn't jump right into it like he figured. It was almost like something was bothering him, but what did the man have to tell him that he was nervous about? Was Sonny going to be leaving his position as ADA? Had him and Morgan decided he was better off somewhere else?

"What is it?" Peter pressed when it was clear Sonny was going to need prompting.

"It's more so that you can prepare Riley."

"Riley?" He stared at his ADA and conjured up all sorts of possibilities of what Sonny was going to tell him that he'd need to prepare Riley for. Were they moving? Were they-

"Morgan and I are trying to have a baby."

Oh. That was what he'd need to prepare Riley for. God, he should've been able to figure that out on his own, it wasn't like it wasn't the natural next step for Morgan and Sonny, hell, if the man hadn't been part of a pretty die hard Catholic family, he wouldn't have been surprised if they'd already had a kid.

That was a sin though.

"I appreciate the heads up." Peter nodded solemnly and Sonny leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"She really should tell Morgan." Sonny said. "Mo won't judge her, she has to know that."

"She does." Peter nodded his head. "I think it's more than that though, trust me, I'm with you on this but it's not something I'm going to push her into doing."

Sonny knew how the man felt, he wouldn't want to push Morgan into something like that either. He didn't know the whole story but he knew enough to want to spare Riley's feelings and if giving Peter a fighting chance was as easy as a conversation, then he'd do that for the man who had become his friend over the last couple of years.

"How's that going by the way?" Sonny questioned, not entirely sure if he _really_ wanted to know the details, but then again, how could he not. If he at least knew they were still trying, or getting close to succeeding, then maybe Riley and Morgan could have kids around the same age, maybe they could have kids that wound up being best friends, just like them. "You hand over your sperm?"

"Twice now." Peter answered, an almost sad expression crossing his face. "We're officially past the artificial insemination phase."

Sonny cringed at the clinical terms and prayed that it didn't come to that for him and Morgan. He figured Morgan was capable of having kids seeing as she hadn't mentioned it to him yet, but it was possible that she couldn't and she wasn't aware. They'd just have to wait and see.

"What's the next step then?" Sonny asked.

"In vitro."

"That's where they put the egg and the sperm together outside, then put…then it goes where it's supposed to?"

"Basically." Peter found himself smiling the tiniest little bit at Sonny's hesitancy to talk about this particular subject, but honestly, he found it weird himself, he was just glad that he _could_ talk about it with someone who wasn't Riley. "Third time for sperm."

"Do they know what's wrong?"

"If they do, no one's told me." Peter offered up and Sonny figured that Peter would be the first to know if Riley found out specifics. "So next Friday I will be off in the afternoon."

"For in vitro?" Sonny wondered, more for confirmation than anything.

"Egg harvesting." Peter said the words forcefully and Sonny winced at them. "It sounds worse than it is, I think."

"Sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie." Sonny joked. "Friday afternoon…"

"You'll be taking over my court appearances while I'm gone, I tried to shuffle things around so you shouldn't have too many." Peter stated. "And I will be mostly available via a phone call, it's just that I promised Riley that I'd be there with her, and plus they can do the sperm thing at the same time- it's really awkward to talk about out loud."

"It's really awkward to think about too." Sonny tossed out. "Sounds terrifying, how's she doing with all this anyway?"

Peter paused for a second and thought about how Riley _was_ doing. She certainly seemed okay, but he knew that she really wanted a child of her own. She was hell bent on it, so much so that she was resorting to minor surgery and an expensive medical process. He wasn't going to say no though, if he was honest, having a baby with Riley sounded great.

He just wasn't sure how much further she was going to want to take things.

"I don't know." Peter sighed. "Honestly, I have no idea if this is going to work and I don't know how to tell her how I'm feeling about everything because she has enough of her own things to worry about."

"Sounds rough."

"She'll be okay."

"She's got you." Sonny smirked. "And, like I said, Venice is really nice."

Peter shook his head in amusement and grabbed hold of a couple of folders off his desk before offering them to Sonny, who took them without hesitation. Neither man said anything for a few seconds but that was just fine, it was comfortable enough for them to sit together and not say anything, in fact, it might even be what they needed every once in a while.

"I'm glad you're back." Peter smiled. "And not just because I can hand files off to you."

Sonny smiled back at him in return, "I'd be more excited to be back if you hadn't pawned your best man speech off to Barba."

"Hey, he approached me." Peter countered.

Sonny rolled his eyes but stood up, still smiling. He tapped the edge of the files and headed for the door, making his way back to his own office. Once he was sitting at his desk, he let out a soft sigh and settled in for his first day back at work in over two weeks. He was ready for it, he was ready for anything so long as he had Morgan by his side.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Listen to all the things I baked you while you were gone!" Riley exclaimed as she met up with Morgan at the pier. "Brownies, cookies- I even baked a pie but Peter ate it."

"You baked a pie?" Morgan grinned.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"You don't even like pie."

"No, but apparently Peter does." Riley shrugged. "I've always wanted to bake a pie, so I did. I think it turned out okay, I didn't eat any but Peter never complained and, like I said, he ate it. Oh my god, he's going to get fat isn't he? I need-"

"He won't get fat, you two work each other out enough at night, I'm sure he'll be fine." Morgan cut her off and continued to grin. "Seriously, it's so hard to believe that it wasn't all that long ago you were out with a different guy every other night."

Riley snorted at her and wrapped her hands around the top of the railing in front of her. She had the baked goods for Morgan back in the car but right now the two of them were merely hanging out on the pier, chilling with each other after two weeks of minimal contact.

"It was just sex, it's not like I was doing anything weird."

"Yeah but a _lot_ of sex." Morgan teased and leaned on the railing next to Riley, the two of them looking out at the water. It was a cooler day but still rather nice out, the sun was shining and the sky was clear. "Peter must be good in bed if you haven't gotten bored of him yet."

Riley turned her head to face Morgan and studied her carefully. Riley loved Peter, Morgan knew that, but did her friend really believe she'd have gotten bored with him by now? Shrugging her off, Riley turned her attention back out to the water, watching the boats that were floating far off in the distance. She'd never get bored of Peter.

"How was Venice? Did you have sex in a gondola?" Riley asked, obviously changing the subject. She didn't really want to talk about her and Peter, especially not since finding out that her second try at artificial insemination didn't take, she just wanted to hear Morgan talk about her great honeymoon adventure in Venice, but not with too many details.

"No Ry, there's always a dude in the boat with you so that the boat moves down the river so that'd be awkward for him." Morgan answered. "Not that you wouldn't find a way I'm sure."

"I've never once been a voyeur." Riley huffed. "But the idea of having a man put his hand in my underwear while out in public has crossed my mind- never done it though."

"Really?"

Riley grinned at her friend, not bothering to dignify her question with a response. She leaned closer to Morgan and rested her head against her shoulder, loving that Morgan was back in New York safe and sound. She had missed her dearly, but Peter had been a decent substitute, when he wasn't busy eating pie.

"I love that you went to Carisi's motherland." Riley joked. "Was it nice? Did he look like all the other Italians?"

"No he didn't look like all the other Italians Ry. As for Venice, my god, you'd love the architecture." Morgan gushed. "And the food was so good."

"Authentic Italian pizza?"

"Yes! More than once." Morgan's voice was laced with excitement and Riley was glad that she had a good time on her honeymoon. Venice sounded like a wonderful place to head off to for two weeks. "So many carbs though, I don't understand how Sonny stays as skinny as he does with the sheer amount of carbs that Italians ingest."

Riley laughed at her pal and pictured Sonny in her head, his body all thin and gangly. She couldn't picture him any other way. She had missed him too, but not as much as Morgan. He was a good guy, a great match for Morgan, and she couldn't have been happier that the two of them managed to find each other.

"His suits are expensive and he doesn't want to risk outgrowing them." Riley jeered. "I love his vests Mo, he's just too adorable, in a way that puppies are adorable."

"Yeah, I think he's adorable in a different way." Morgan chuckled. "But hey, that's just better for me, I never had to compete with you for his attention."

Riley nodded her head in agreement, thanking god that she had found Peter Stone while Morgan had been crushing on Sonny. Things seemed to have worked out fairly well for the two of them.

"Somehow I don't think I'm his type but I'm definitely glad you're home though." Riley sighed in contentment. "I missed you."

"Not going to lie here Ry, I barely thought of you while I was gone."

"Fair, you were probably too busy having massive amounts of vanilla sex."

"Ry." Morgan groaned. "We're not vanilla."

Riley cocked her head sideways innocently and smirked at her friend. She'd tease her about it for a long time to come, but she couldn't have been any happier that Morgan had managed to find a guy like Sonny who loved her just as much as she loved him.

"I can upgrade you to chocolate, but that's about as far as I can put you."

"Whatever, at least I haven't tried like a thousand different flavours, like you."

Leaning back, Riley glared playfully at her friend and even reached out and slapped her on the back. Morgan broke out into a fit of laughter but hugged Riley tight, holding on to her for the first time she had arrived back in New York.

"Peter and I picked a date." Riley murmured and Morgan tensed at her words.

"What?"

"October seventeenth. We're going to have a wedding." Riley explained, Morgan's lips curling upwards into the biggest smile. "I decided that I want the fancy dress and party, and we decided that October seventeenth is going to be the day."

"Wow." Morgan's eyes widened in sheer joy. "I think that's a great date and you will look amazing in, well, probably any dress you try on."

Riley shied away from her gaze but let Morgan hang on to her, taking her hand instead of hugging her. The two of them looked out at the water, letting a blanket of silence fall over them. It was perfect, Morgan was married and happy, Riley was going to _be_ married and Peter seemed to be doing a decent job at keeping Riley happy so far.

What more could the two of them ask for?

"You'll be my maid of honour, right?" Riley asked softly.

"Duh." Morgan retorted. "And I will be there when you try on dresses and all that jazz."

"Good."

Morgan pressed a sweet little kiss against the side of Riley's head, loving that her friend was turning out to have a normal relationship. She had worried about her before when she simply slept with a man once and never saw him again, but this Riley, the very girl who was ready to settle down with a man and actually have a wedding, was someone Morgan felt confident in.

She definitely wasn't worried about Riley anymore.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Peter was confident in Sonny covering for him the following Friday afternoon, he'd been gone from the office for close to two hours and had yet to receive a call or text from Sonny asking him for help, or asking him anything at all really. His load for the afternoon had been lightened for him so it wasn't like Sonny was going to be overwhelmed, which just made him able to focus all of his attention on what was going on right now.

He was anxiously waiting for Riley to be done with her egg harvesting procedure, hell he had even gone and done his part for the day, but this waiting, the not knowing, was killing him. He had brought a book to read but it had been abandoned in the car because there was no way he'd be able to focus on anything except the idea of this in vitro process working.

They were so close to Riley potentially ending up pregnant. After today, they'd have to wait a few days and then the process would really be complete. Was he ready for that? Was he ready to become a dad if it happened?

His knee vibrated from the nerves of it all but before his other knee could start, his name was called by one of the ladies working in the clinic. Following her back down the hallway, he spotted Riley sitting on the edge of a hospital bed, she was entirely dressed but looking super groggy. Her eyes were half shut and when he wandered in, she merely stared at him, an almost lost expression on her face.

"She's good to go home, we'll be seeing her next Wednesday pending everything goes well from here on out." The lady announced and Riley hesitantly made her way to her feet, reaching out and grabbing for Peter, who was quick to take up a stance beside her, letting her use him to keep herself stable. "If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call us."

"Thanks." Riley murmured and held on tight to Peter, letting him lead her out of the room, then out of the building.

When she was securely in the passenger seat of the car, he hesitated in her doorframe and gently set his hand on her knee. She peered up at him and forced a smile onto her face, her eyes glazed over from the anesthetic.

"You okay?" He asked in a low tone and she gave one cautious nod of her head.

"Tired mostly."

"You sure?"

"I mean, my whole bottom half feels weird but they said that's normal."

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the side of her head, Riley settling in to her seat as he retreated, shutting the door and heading around to the driver's side. On the way home, she had managed to fall asleep and when he pulled into the driveway, she didn't move.

Taking a minute to just look at her, he couldn't help but wonder how he had gotten so lucky in finding her. Yeah so what if they had started off going right to bed the first night they met, it had definitely worked out pretty well for them. She was beautiful, smart, funny, kind and so many other things.

Soon, but not soon enough, she'd be his wife.

The thought of standing in front of their friends and family made him smile and before he could think too much about it, he reached over and gingerly nudged her arm, waking her. She let her head loll sideways to look at him and he could tell that she was exhausted, and maybe it was from more than just her procedure, maybe it was the entirety of her wanting so desperately to have a baby of her own.

He didn't know for sure, nor did he know how far she was willing to go to _have_ a baby of her own. At least he knew that she wasn't going to look for outside donors though, that was a comforting thought.

"Come on, let's get you inside." Peter whispered. She went to unbuckle her seatbelt and open her door but before she had a chance to step out into the driveway, he was standing there waiting for her, ready to support her if she needed it.

When she took hold of his hand, he helped her to the ground, shutting the car door behind her. She immediately curled her body into his chest and he hugged her tight, resting his chin on the top of her head.

Hesitantly pulling away, she let him take her hand and guide her to the front door before ushering her inside. He then led her to the living room and she flopped onto the couch, sitting there in a state of tiredness as he disappeared from the room.

When he came back, he sat down beside her and spread out the blanket that he had retrieved, covering the two of them with it and letting her curl against his side. He held on to her tightly and she stared into his eyes, a tiny little smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"You're coming on Wednesday, right?" She asked, letting out a little yawn.

"Yes." Okay, so he'd need to find out what time on Wednesday she needed him and then fill Sonny in on the work for that day. He could do that, it was easy enough, even if it wasn't, he'd figure out a way to be there for her.

"Thank you." She murmured, letting her eyes fall shut. He took hold of the television remote and turned it on, flipping through the channels to see what he could find. When he landed on a repeat of the Yankees game from the night before, he stopped and turned the volume down low.

"For what exactly?"

"Everything." She shrugged awkwardly against him. "For the sperm, for putting up with all this, for being with me."

Well that was just a long list of things she was thankful for. He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze, feeling her body relax against him. He'd pretty much do anything for the girl next to him, but he wasn't going to admit that out loud, not any time soon if he could help it. Once he did that, she'd hold all the cards and he wasn't ready to give her that power just yet. One day though.

"Morgan and Sonny are trying to have a baby." He blurted out and flinched at the tensing of her body against his. He had known for over a week and hadn't found the right time to break it to her, but now seemed like as good a time as any. What did he have to lose anyways, she was half drugged. "Sonny told me last week. I just thought you should know so that it doesn't come out of left field."

"You've known this for a week?" She pressed and readjusted her body against his, wrapping her arms around her middle. She was aching but she figured it would stop after a day or so, minor cramping and bloating was common. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"What do you want me to say?" She tipped her head back and looked at him, sadness in her eyes. "She's allowed to have babies, just because I'm having trouble doesn't mean she has to wait."

"That's not…Riley, I just don't want you to get hurt."

"People are going to have babies whether I do or not." She pointed out. "Morgan's allowed to, clearly she's going to. I figured this was going to happen."

"You're allowed to be upset." Peter stated.

"What's the point?" She countered. "I don't _want_ Morgan to feel bad, it's part of the reason why I didn't tell her about my issues."

He twisted his body slightly and she drew herself against his chest, laying on him as opposed to against him. Curling into his hold, she let out a soft sigh and tried to relax against him. Morgan was allowed to get pregnant, she was allowed to have kids, even if it wasn't immediately in the cards for Riley.

She figured that if Morgan knew about her inability to conceive then Morgan might even put it off for fear of hurting her feelings and she certainly didn't want that. She just wanted Morgan to be happy. It wasn't her fault Riley had fertility issues and Riley certainly wasn't going to be the reason Morgan held back on having a family.

"It's whatever." Riley mumbled. "I'm upset, but not at Mo. I'm just upset at the world. Shit's not fair."

"No, it's not."

He knew that first hand. Growing up with a father who wasn't that great, having a sister who spent most of her grown life in an institution- yeah he knew all about shit not being fair. Riley didn't deserve this though, she deserved everything she could possibly want.

Maybe in vitro would work, maybe they'd get their baby. Maybe it wouldn't and they'd try again.

He didn't know what to expect, but he was going to be there with Riley every step of the way.

"Can we…" Riley trailed off, her eyes darting over to the television where she spotted her beloved Yankees. "I'm going to go to bed."

"I'll come-"

"No." She broke in. "You should probably call Sonny and check in."

Peter gave her a nod of his head and before he could protest any more, she was on her feet with the blanket in her arms. She headed for the stairs and he watched her go, careful to make sure that she made it up the stairs without incident. When she was safely on the second floor, he shook his head and pulled his phone out from his pocket, looking at the screen and daring it to ring.

Instead of calling Sonny though, he merely typed out a text message to him asking if everything was good. As soon as the response came back claiming that 'all's good', Peter knew where he needed to be, it didn't matter if she had told him not to come with her.

He made his way up the stairs and burst into the bedroom, catching sight of the tears in Riley's eyes as she lay sideways on the bed with the blanket over her body. Peter made quick work of joining her in bed, drawing her against his chest as she silently cried. He looked towards the ceiling, closed his eyes and prayed that this would work out for them.

Seeing Riley like this wasn't something he could do too many more times because it broke his heart to see her upset. He couldn't help her, he couldn't fix things, and at that moment, he wasn't sure how to even start to comfort her.

"I love you Riley." He whispered and she clung to him tighter, letting out a soft sob. "You're okay."

She didn't bother responding, instead, she just held on to him and tried to calm herself. What more could she do because she honestly didn't know if he was right? Was she okay?

She was scared because she was starting to think that maybe the answer was no.


	24. Chapter 24

A few weeks after her little breakdown at home, Riley was feeling a bit better about herself. She knew that there had been massive amounts of hormones coursing through her body so the fact that she had actually broke down and cried after her procedure wasn't really all that surprising, but it still stuck with her.

When the clinic had called her while she was at work and informed her that her blood tested negative for pregnancy, she had managed to hold it together for the rest of the day, even though her mind was definitely not on work. It was fine, at least that's what she kept telling herself, but by the time she arrived home after her day at the office, she was feeling pretty tired and a lot miserable.

Why hadn't in vitro worked? What had she done wrong?

Instead of making dinner like normal, Riley changed into her pajamas and flopped onto the couch where she promptly fell into a light slumber, only to be woken when the front door shut, signaling that Peter was home. Well he was earlier than she was anticipating, but then again, she didn't usually have a nap when she got home from work, she usually got right to work on making dinner.

Not today, she wasn't feeling it today, and who could blame her really?

"Riley?" He called out to her, apparently not finding her in the kitchen. When he stepped into the living room, she remained lying on the couch but lifted her hand up and waved to him, letting him know where she was. Peter came to crouch down in front of her and she let out a yawn. "Hey."

"Mm, hi." She murmured and crossed her arms over her chest, trying to keep herself warm now that she was awake.

"What's up?"

"Nothing." She offered casually and when he gave her leg a rough pat, she reluctantly moved slowly into a sitting position, Peter shifting from a crouch so that he could sit on the edge of the coffee table.

"I find that hard to believe." Peter pressed and he extended his hands out, offering them to her to hold if she desired to do so. When she uncrossed her arms, she took hold of one of his hands and blew out a breath. "Tell me what's wrong?"

"How do you know anything's wrong?" Riley quipped but not in a mean tone, she sounded genuinely curious as to why he believed she wasn't okay.

"I have never once, in our entire relationship, come home to find you lying on the couch." Peter stated. "So either something's wrong or…no, something's wrong."

She considered dancing around the point and not telling him right away but what good would that do, honestly? He'd find out eventually and he obviously cared or else he wouldn't be pushing so hard for him to tell him what was up with her. They were a couple, a team, so why was she so afraid to tell him that she wasn't pregnant?

Lifting her other hand up, she ran it through her hair and let out a soft sigh. This was so hard for her, and not just the telling him bit, the whole thing sucked. She just wanted to be able to get pregnant and so far she wasn't doing very well. She was starting to feel like maybe the guy back in college was right, she was a faulty woman, but more than that, she wasn't able to be a mother.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's fine."

"Not really." She shook her head and gave his hand a squeeze, quickly taking hold of his other hand. "The clinic called today, I'm not pregnant."

He sucked in a nervous breath and met her eyes, watching as the tears well up there. He wasn't sure what to say to her at this point but he knew she was hurting and it made him feel bad. He was supposed to be the one to support her, he wanted to be there when she got news like that, but that wasn't how it happened.

"Well we can try again, right?" Peter was leaving the ball in her court, not knowing what she'd want to do at this point in time. "We said we'd try it twice-"

"I need a break." She cut him off, sighing loudly once she got the words out.

"From…what exactly? From me?" He didn't want to sound scared but he was. When people proclaimed they needed a break, it generally wasn't good for the other person in the relationship. Riley was his fiancé, he wasn't about to lose her over something that they could work on. "Because I hate to tell you this, you're stuck with me. We have a mortgage, you can't just walk out of that."

A small snicker escaped her and she rolled her eyes at him, "no, never from you."

"Then what? Whatever you want a break from, just tell me."

"From this whole baby thing." She finally managed to get the words out. "I went off my anxiety meds for in vitro and I don't think I can handle not taking them much longer. Peter, I know I said I want a baby but I just…I need to breathe."

He gave her a nod of his head, wondering if she felt pressured by him at all. He was all for whatever timeline she wanted, she had to know that, but maybe the words she was saying out loud were more beneficial to her than to him.

"I'm game for whatever you want to do, especially when it's your body."

"Are you sure?" She blinked and tears ran down her cheeks. Oh no, was this another panic attack, was she going to start panicking completely. When she let go of his hand and pressed her palm against the centre of her chest, he knew that whatever she was going through at that moment, it was more than just disappointment.

"Yes. You are what matters to me and if you want to take a break, for however long, that's okay with me. I can't imagine any of that process was easy for you." He said softly.

She forced a smile onto her face, recognizing that he was completely aware that the process was awkward for her just as much as it was for him. It didn't matter that she wanted a baby bad enough to go through in vitro fertilization; it was still clinical and invasive; even more than that, it was unnatural and uncomfortable. She found herself constantly on edge too, wondering if she was doing things wrong when they were just normal, everyday things.

When the phone rang at work, she had jumped, and then froze at the sight of the clinic's name on the screen. She had been excited, but also scared, terrified even. They had been trying for so long without success and Riley knew that it was going to take a miracle at this point in time.

"If I can't have kids…if we can't do this, are you going to stop loving me?" She asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

Peter stared at her but lifted his one hand up, running his fingers along the side of her jaw and wiping the tears away with his thumb.

"I don't know that I could stop loving you if I tried." He smiled at her and she bowed her head, a sob getting caught in her throat along with a chuckle. "You're it for me, no matter what."

Riley lifted her head back up and forced a smile onto her face, "okay."

He held her gaze for a good ten seconds before lunging forward, enveloping her in his arms as he moved to sit next to her on the couch. When her face was buried into his chest, he heard her let out a soft cry and felt her body shake; but he didn't know if it was all from the sadness of not being pregnant or maybe a bit of relief.

She clearly lost her confidence in him somewhere but he wasn't going anywhere, not for as long as she'd have him. They were engaged, they had a house together and they _were_ going to get married. Peter didn't want anyone but Riley.

"You didn't make dinner." He stated and she leaned back, locking her eyes on him. He smiled at her and shook his head. "That sounded like an accusation, I didn't mean it that way, I think it just naturally comes out all lawyer like- what I was trying to get at is I can order us a pizza, we can have a beer together and just have a chill night in."

She blew out a breath through her nose and gently set her forehead against his shoulder, "Peter Stone, you can be a genius sometimes."

"I know." He smirked. "Later we can even go to bed and you can cuff me to the headboard and do dirty things to me."

She let out a low bark of laughter and gingerly slapped his chest, "you know me so well."

"I figured that would cheer you right up."

She couldn't help the smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Yes, being back on her anti-anxiety meds was definitely starting to make Riley feel more normal and less…crazy, yes crazy. She had a lot to be anxious about but talking to Peter had relieved some of her nervousness, being back on her meds relieved a lot more. Today was going to be great, so great that she found herself smiling as she wandered towards the entrance to Central Park, Morgan standing there leaning against the gate post.

The two of them spotted each other and jogged towards one another, closing the distance quickly, where Morgan immediately took her friend into a big bear hug, Riley relishing in the embrace. Central Park seemed like a great place to meet, it was a nice day, albeit a little on the cool side, but nothing that a light jacket couldn't combat.

The foliage was beautiful and there were lots of people milling about, kids playing on the grass, people picnicking on blankets, it was just the perfect scene and Riley couldn't help but smile as Morgan slipped her arm through hers and led her along the wide path, the two of them basking in the warmth from the sun high up in the sky above.

"You look good." Morgan remarked, reaching across with her free hand and giving Riley's arm a rough pat. "I can't wait for you to really get going on your whole wedding plans. I want to go dress shopping with you and make you try on tacky chandelier dresses."

"I wouldn't be opposed to that." Riley chuckled. "The good thing about me getting married is that I have no relation to Sonny's sisters so they definitely won't be there."

"Not even Bella?" Morgan feigned a dramatic gasp but let out a giggle shortly afterwards.

"Nah, I think just you and me, maybe my mom will come down for the occasion."

"That sounds nice. Should be a calm day." Morgan nodded her understanding.

"Yeah, actually speaking of calm day, I found a little boutique out near Coney Island. I thought we could check it out and then spend some time _at_ Coney Island, maybe we could hit up the roller coaster?" Riley tossed the idea out. She had looked into it a few days ago and the boutique had originally caught her attention but the idea of spending an afternoon riding the amusement park rides with Morgan and her mom sounded like a fun way to forget her woes for a day.

"Oh I love me a Ferris wheel." Morgan grinned. "Sounds great! Don't they have an aquarium too?"

Riley beamed right back at her friend and gave her an affirming nod of her head, "maybe we could even make a weekend out of it? Book a hotel there, I can even try to find some more bridal shops nearby?"

Morgan's eyes lit up with excitement, "girls' weekend!"

"With my mom." Riley threw in but Morgan didn't care, she loved Riley's mom. "She can pretend we're kids again, but this time we won't run off and get lost."

"Like when we were kids." Morgan cocked her head sideways and recalled the time that Audrey had taken them to Coney Island for the day. They had gone on a ride and when they got off, Audrey had been nowhere to be seen. The two of them wandered around for hours when they happened to run into Audrey, literally, as the older woman was talking to a security staff.

It had been an adventure but once they were back with Audrey, the three of them had found themselves having a wonderful afternoon, this time Audrey didn't wait for them to ride the rides, she had joined them. It had been a nice experience for both girls, and even Audrey had loved spending time with the two of them.

"So you're down?" Riley pressed and Morgan paused in walking, leading Riley over to a nearby bench on the side of the path. The two of them sat down and Morgan turned sideways to face Riley, who mirrored her motions. "Because I need something fun like Coney Island, you and I haven't spent a weekend together, just you and me, since I met Peter."

"I think that's a little dramatic, but I agree. Coney Island girls' weekend sounds fabulous."

Riley tilted her head sideways and let out a soft sigh of relief at the thought of heading out to Coney Island with her best friend and her mom, pending the fact that her mom could make it. She wanted to run the idea by Morgan first because if it had wound up being _just_ Riley and her mom- well that would've been lame.

Morgan had been all in though, even throwing out ideas of her own, like the aquarium. Oh lordy did that ever sound like something neat for them to enjoy, and on top of all that, hopefully Riley would find herself a wedding dress.

"So…" Morgan started but trailed off, peering around at the park. She took in the sight of the people around them enjoying themselves while walking, or jogging, or the kids that were playing, she just felt happy here. "I might have some news."

"Good news?" Riley pressed and she felt her heart picking up in speed. Nope, this was fine, she could handle whatever Morgan had to say, so long as it didn't affect their Coney Island plans. Morgan was her friend, she just hoped that it wasn't bad news.

When Morgan's eyes widened ever so slightly, she couldn't help but grin, "I think it's great news."

"Oh my god, what?" Riley leaned in forward, anticipating whatever it was she had to say. Great news was awesome, definitely better than bad news, but Riley hadn't actually been expecting bad news.

"Okay so I'm telling you first, even before Sonny." Morgan stated, her tone turning serious. Riley could feel her stomach turning, knowing that whatever Morgan was about to tell her was maybe already something Riley was aware of, but she certainly wasn't going to let Morgan know that.

"Mo." Riley fixed her with a pointed look and Morgan let out a low squeal.

"I'm pregnant!"

Riley gaped at the news and tried to force herself to be happy for her friend. God she felt like such a turd, but the news was bittersweet to her. It wasn't like Morgan knew her issues, so she couldn't tell Morgan how she was really feeling, but part of her was upset.

What had been so hard for her had come so quickly to Morgan. Her and Sonny had only been married for a little over a month- her and Peter had been trying since Morgan and Sonny had gotten engaged with no luck.

"That's great." Riley smiled and prayed to god that Morgan wouldn't be able to see that her own heart was breaking. "God Mo!"

"I know!" Morgan cried out excitedly and Riley lunged forward, enveloping her in a congratulatory hug. She really was excited for Morgan, she was, honestly, it was just hard news to hear.

Running her hands up and down Morgan's back, Riley peeled away but didn't let go of her friend's arms.

"You told _me_ before you told Sonny?" Riley quipped, cluing in to what she had said before telling her the _great_ news. "Actually?"

"Yeah." She giggled. "I took the pregnancy test this morning after he left for work and this isn't something you tell your husband over the phone so I was waiting until he was done work and back in the apartment, face to face you know?"

Riley nodded her head, smiling, "makes sense to me. God, seriously, that's so…so great."

Deep down in her gut, she knew she wasn't lying, it was great news, good for Morgan. Her friend was so excited, so happy to be pregnant, and who could blame her. It was the next step for her and Sonny, who were perfect together. Sonny would make a great dad and Morgan would make an excellent mom.

Morgan couldn't wipe the smile off her face and when Riley let out a laugh at the sheer excitement on her friend's face, Morgan followed suit.

"You're going to tell him tonight though, right?" Riley pressed and Morgan nodded her head furiously. "Okay because I can't _not_ tell Peter and he'll probably say something to Sonny so yeah."

"I'm going to tell him tonight." Morgan beamed. "So no worries."

Riley smiled back at her friend and Morgan reached out, giving her knee a rough slap. She was so happy, so excited to have a family with Sonny. She wanted two kids and so far she was well on her way to being halfway there. It was frightening but she was way too happy to be scared, especially not now. They had time to get organized, they had time to find a bigger place, most likely a house.

Morgan wanted it all with Sonny and yeah, so she hadn't planned on it happening so soon, it didn't matter, not in the long run. Her and Sonny had been together for a long enough time that it made sense, plus, the logic of getting pregnant on her honeymoon had been sound at the time. Sonny knew what he wanted and Morgan was happy to oblige.

"It's a honeymoon baby." Morgan stated and Riley cocked her head sideways. "Conceived on our honeymoon. What do you think of the name Venice?"

"No." Riley shook her head with a smile.

"Alright, fair enough, I just thought it would be a cute story, you know, I could tell the baby their name is Venice because that's where they were created."

"That's not even a little bit cute, it's disturbing." Riley laughed.

Morgan stuck her tongue out at her best friend but laughed with her, maybe she had a point, maybe it wasn't as cute as she originally thought.

"You and Peter should have a kid now too so they can grow up together." Morgan teased and Riley forced herself to let out another laugh.

"Peter's all 'let me focus on my career right now' so that probably won't happen." Riley lied, she blatantly lied. It had been her opportunity to come clean to Morgan but she hadn't. She didn't want to rain on Morgan's parade.

"Pfft, you should tell him you want babies, that man would do anything for you." Morgan snorted. "Literally _anything_."

"Yeah." Riley agreed. "I'll talk to him about it but if he wants to focus on his career, who am I to get in the way. Plus there's still plenty of time, him and I aren't even married yet."

"Oooh yes, you can have a honeymoon baby too!" Morgan shrieked. "Paris?"

"Paris was thrown around but we haven't decided on anything solid yet." Riley bowed her head. "Now see Paris is a decent name for a kid though."

"I still can't believe you shot down Venice!"

"I can believe it." Riley reached out and poked Morgan in the shoulder. "I'll probably be shooting down a lot of your ideas."

"That's why you're my best friend." Morgan chuckled. "You aren't afraid to tell me if something is stupid."

"Like naming your kid Venice." Riley nodded. "That's stupid."

Morgan couldn't help but laugh at Riley. God it felt good to get her news out there for someone to hear, and she was so glad that Riley was with her. She was too excited to keep it to herself until Sonny came home from work, plus she was sort of a practice announcement.

"Baby!" Morgan cackled and Riley went in for another hug.

Oh yes, there wasn't anything more that Morgan needed at that very moment, life was good.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Morgan was practically pacing, wearing a hole in the floor in front of the front door, but she didn't care. She couldn't take it anymore but Sonny was running late, which she knew from his text telling her that court had run long and he would be home about half an hour later than she was expecting him.

She had made an easy dinner consisting of pasta, meatballs and garlic bread, all of which was ready and keeping warm with the stove and oven. But she found herself way too off base to relax. She had it all planned out, she'd tell him the good news while they were eating, but that idea had gone to complete shit when she had finished cooking and realized that she seemed to have way too much pent-up energy to actually sit down and eat.

There was too much excitement, too many thoughts flooding her mind. She needed Sonny to know and she needed him to know as soon as possible. She was going to burst soon if he didn't get home, she wanted to yell it from the rooftops and tell everyone she knew, but he deserved to know, especially since she had told Riley first.

It hadn't been anything personal, she had just been there and Morgan had felt like she had to tell _someone_ , the news was too good to keep to herself all day.

When the door flew open, she jumped back and planted her hands on her hips, staring at Sonny as he wandered in looking rather worn out. Huh, okay, well honestly that didn't really surprise her seeing as she _knew_ that court had run long, he was probably tired, very much so, but still, she was going to tell him, just as soon as-

"Hey doll." He said with a sigh and closed the door behind him, peeling off his suit jacket and tossing it to the couch. He paused and looked past her, taking in the sight of the pan of meatballs on the stove and a colander in the sink full of noodles. "You made dinner."

"I did." She beamed at him and he clearly mistook her excitement for pride. He was the one that cooked, not Morgan, hell even when Morgan had lived with Riley, Riley had been the one who did the majority of the cooking.

"Pasta, nice."

"Meatballs." Morgan leaned forward, a sparkle in her eye.

Sonny brushed past her and headed for the stove, grabbing a fork from the drawer and stabbing one of the meatballs with it. He blew on it to cool it down and then proceeded to shove the whole thing in his mouth, chewing it slowly. She merely watched him with curiosity and when he finally swallowed, he gave her a small nod, letting her know that it was good.

Thank Jesus! She had struggled so hard to get the meatballs to stay round to start with but she had made it work, thanks to the help of google and maybe a quick phone call to Riley. Sonny ignored her as he opened the cupboards and pulled out two large plates, setting them on the counter as he closed the cupboard.

She wandered over and ran her hand across the front of her shirt, sucking in a breath and preparing to just blurt out her good news.

"So this guy in court today reminded me of Bitey McBite-face." Sonny announced and Morgan promptly clamped her mouth shut. "He was almost like a mirror image and funny enough he had this little scar near his eye- just reminded me of the night you gouged out that scumbags eyeball."

"He was attacking me." Morgan stated, feeling like she had to defend herself, but she knew Sonny was fully aware of what had happened that night. She had every right to fight back.

"Oh I know doll. It just threw me back to before you and I were together."

"Right, okay." She took a step towards him but he stopped her when he handed her one of the plates he had procured. She took it and stepped back, letting him go first, scooping out a healthy portion of noodles before moving along the counter in front of her to the stove, where he plopped five meatballs on top of the pasta. She watched him for a few seconds as he made his way towards the table but opened her mouth before he had a chance to sit down. "There's garlic bread staying warm in the oven."

His lips curled into a smile and he set his plate down at the table, heading back to the oven and pulling the oven mitts over his hands. She stood frozen in place, watching as he pulled the garlic bread tray out of the oven and set it on the back of the stove, grabbing two pieces and carrying them over to his plate with the mitts still on his hand.

"Smells delicious." Sonny remarked, setting the garlic bread on the side of his plate, then peeling the oven mitts off his hands and walking them back over to the counter. She still had yet to move so when Sonny grabbed her plate from her hands; she flinched slightly, not expecting him to do that.

He piled some pasta on her plate and then set some meatballs on top, finishing it off with two pieces of garlic bread. He nabbed her hand on the way by and hauled her to the table where the silverware had already been set out. Morgan sat down in her chair and he placed her plate down in front of her.

She stared at him, watching as he rubbed his hands together like an excited child. Child, oh right yes, she had news for him, great news, and so far he hadn't given her a chance to tell him.

"You use that cookbook my sisters got you for your bridal shower?" He asked, grabbing his fork and holding it above his plate. "Or did you call my mom and ask her for her recipe?"

Morgan opened her mouth to respond but instead of answering his questions, she found herself at a loss for words. Could he not simply sense that she was excited for him to come home, could he not see how happy she was by the smile she had permanently plastered on her face since her walk through Central Park?

"Riley." Morgan spat out. "I…it was a joint effort between Google and Riley."

"Well these meatballs are delicious." Sonny smiled and stabbed another one, shoving it into his mouth and chewing it.

"Sonny…" She trailed off and set her hands on the table, her palms flat against the surface. "I have something to tell you."

"Rollins giving you a hard time at work again?" He pressed, a smirk on his face suggesting that he was just joking with her. "Or uh-"

"Can you just shut up for a second?" She broke in and sucked in a breath. "Sonny, I have good news, okay so stop talking."

He looked at her curiously but she didn't look mad, if anything she seemed flustered.

"Okay." He waved at her to go on with his fork and she blew out the breath she had sucked in seconds ago.

"I'm pregnant."

His fork dropped right out of his hand, landing on the table after hitting the edge of his plate. He was standing up at the table in a split second, eyes wide with wonder and a shocked expression on his face. She smiled up at him and before she knew what was happening, he was around the table and hugging her tight, Morgan struggling to get to her own feet as he squeezed her.

Phew, so he was happy. She figured he would be since it was practically his idea, but she didn't know if maybe his mind had changed since they had come back from Venice. This was reassuring, she was glad to know that he was still right there with her. They were going to have a baby, they were going to become a family and she was thrilled.

"That's the best news ever!" Sonny whooped as he leaned back, loosening his hold on her. He looked her up and down, searching for signs that he might've missed but she shook her head with a smirk.

"I'm not very far along Sonny Bunny." She chuckled. "I found out this morning."

"God Mo, you don't even…this is such great news."

"Yeah and if you had shut up, I would've been able to tell you earlier." She joked, pressing her palm against his chest. "We're going to have a baby!"

"A baby." He echoed her words and leaned in, pressing his lips against hers. She stiffened at the action, not expecting it, but she relaxed once she realized he was just as excited as she was and kissing her was his way of letting her know that. She kissed him right back and when he pulled away, she laughed. "A frigging baby!"

"Yes!" She yipped. " _Our_ baby."

"Oh god, I have to tell my mom- wait, can I tell my mom?" He pressed, looking into her eyes. She cocked her head sideways and considered his request.

She was still in the very early stages so maybe the less people that knew, the better, but surely his mom deserved to know. She was a good woman, she was his mom, if he needed to tell anyone, it should definitely be his mom.

"Yes." Morgan nodded. " _But_ don't tell anyone else until I'm further along, okay?"

"Okay, yes!"

She was hauled forward again and he squeezed her super tight, but she didn't care. This was the perfect reaction to her perfect news.

Her and Sonny were going to have a baby!

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley found herself watching the Yankees game on her own that night, Peter was home but he was in his office, working on a closing statement or something along those lines. She hadn't really been paying attention, instead she had been trying to sort out her feelings about Morgan's grand news.

She was excited for her, she wouldn't deny that, but part of her was jealous that it had seemed so easy for her. She had been trying for a while now with nothing to show for it, hell, her and Peter had even moved on to clinical methods and still nothing.

She just wanted a baby of her own, was that too much to ask?

Apparently the answer was yes, which frustrated Riley to no end. She wasn't frustrated with Morgan, not even a little bit, she was frustrated at the whole situation. It sucked, it wasn't fair, but she wasn't going to take it out on Morgan, hell, she didn't even tell Morgan when she had been handed a perfect opportunity to do so.

Maybe one day she'd gain enough courage to come out and tell Morgan that she couldn't have kids.

Letting out a low growl, Riley flung herself off of the couch and walked over to the door to Peter's office. It was half open and she could hear his keyboard clicking away as he typed but she needed him right now.

Lifting her hand up, she knocked on his door, watching as he jumped, clearly not expecting her to bother him- was that what she was doing, was she _bothering_ him?

"Shit sorry, I…" She trailed off and he turned to face her head on. "I'll just go watch the Yankees until you're done."

"Riley-"

"Nope, I'm bugging you, and I'm sorry." She shook her head and let out a soft sigh. He was in his office working and she had simply ignored the fact that he was doing his job. She could be patient, she could wait a while longer until he was done, she could-

He got to his feet and reached out, grabbing her hand and tugging on it. Peter drew her towards him and when she was standing in front of him, he wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her down to sit on his lap while he took a seat back in his chair. She set her arms on his shoulders and looked into his eyes for a second before peering behind him and glancing at the screen of his laptop.

"You have never bugged me." He murmured, Riley pressing her lips together.

"You can say that all you want, but you were working and I just came in here-"

"You're more important than this case, or any other case."

She wasn't sure how to respond to him, so she didn't say anything, choosing to gingerly press her forehead against his instead. He stayed quiet too, waiting for her to start talking, to tell him what was bugging her, because he didn't want to push her.

It was easy to see that she was struggling with the fact that the first round of in vitro hadn't worked, but she had been the one to ask if they could put things on hold for a bit. She was entitled to change her mind though and he was ready to do whatever she wanted when it came to attempting to have kids.

"Morgan's pregnant." Riley confessed and his grip on her tightened slightly.

"You knew that was a possibility." Peter replied, voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Yeah and I think I'm happy for her."

"You think?"

Letting out a low sigh she closed her eyes for a second, opening them back up to find he was still looking at her, "I _am_ happy for her, it's great."

Peter lifted a hand up and slipped his fingers through hers, holding it against his chest. Riley leaned back, putting a good few inches of space between their faces.

"It sucks for you though, is that what you're going to say?" Peter questioned, her head nodding yes as an answer. "You're allowed to feel that way, you're allowed to feel whatever way you feel."

"But I feel bad for the way I feel because it's not _her_ fault that I can't get pregnant, hell she doesn't even _know_ I can't get pregnant."

"You also don't have to tell her if you don't want to."

"I definitely _do_ have to tell her." Riley countered. "Because as of right now, she thinks that the reason I'm not jumping on the baby train is because you're too focused on your job to settle down."

" _That's_ what you told her?" Peter chuckled.

She shied away from his gaze but nodded again.

It wasn't like she planned to tell Morgan that, but it had been the easiest excuse she could think of. She wanted to tell Morgan that she couldn't conceive but now seemed like a terrible time because then Morgan would be sad for her and this was a time for Morgan to be excited. The girl was growing freaking life inside of her, that was an amazing feat and she didn't need Riley's sob story to bring her down from that high.

"I can tell her that it's not you-"

"You tell her whatever you want. If that means you're letting her think you're blaming me for it, I don't care, I can take it." Peter cut her off. He knew she'd go tell Morgan the truth if he really wanted her to, but he wasn't about to do that to Riley. "If you want to tell her that I have bad sperm, you can do that too."

"No." She shook her head. "No that's…I _will_ tell her, just, eventually."

"Honestly Riley, it's your truth to tell. When you decide to tell her, she'll understand but if you don't want to tell her, ever, I'm okay with that too."

"I _will_ tell her." She repeated her words from seconds ago. "I just don't know when."

"I believe you."

With a sigh, she relaxed against him and ran her thumb over his, letting him continue to hold her hand. He was such a comfort to her when she needed it, he was always there to support her, she just wished that she could give him what Morgan was giving Sonny.

"I'll just give her a few weeks, you think the excitement will wear off by then?" Riley asked but his chuckle told her that he didn't figure the excitement would be worn off by then. "Okay, seriously, now I'm leaving."

"You don't have to." Peter argued.

She offered him up a shrug and made her way to her feet, breaking his hold on her. She hesitated as she stood in front of him and when he followed her lead and stood up too, she stared at him, wondering what he was doing. When his hands came to rest on the sides of her face, she held her breath and when his lips pressed against hers, she melted into the kiss, letting her body relax for the first time since Morgan had made her big announcement.

She pulled away with a smile and he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Come watch the Yankees with me when you're done?" She requested and he smiled at her.

"I shouldn't be too much longer."

"Yeah well, they're only in the third inning so you've got at least another two hours until they're done." Riley pointed out.

He gave her a nod of understanding and let go of her, watching as she sauntered out of his office. A smile graced his face and with a low chuckle, he dropped back to his chair and turned to face his laptop. It was evident that Riley was going to be okay, at least for now.


	25. Chapter 25

The first dress shop in Coney Island had been a total bust, they had nothing even remotely like what Riley wanted for her wedding gown, and after trying on only one, which was clearly not the right dress, they had left and headed over to the boutique that Riley had really wanted to go to.

It was a quaint little store with twice as many dresses as the first place, which left Riley feeling way better about her chances. Her mother and Morgan were the only two people with her, Audrey having driven them all to Coney Island in her car, and now here they all were, looking through the dresses within the boutique walls while the one shop girl pulled gowns for Riley from the back.

There was a total of two workers, but that didn't matter to Riley, she liked the idea of having the store to herself and as soon as Audrey offered up a satin Cinderella style gown, Riley lit up. Yes, ball gowns, with full skirts and fitted tops, that's what she wanted. A far cry from Morgan's sleek lace style, but definitely what she pictured herself in for her wedding day.

"You know Ry, that boy of yours asked me for permission." Audrey stated, watching carefully as Riley wandered towards the changing room with her attendant, the satin gown being pulled off the hanger as they moved. "He wanted to make sure I approved before he proposed."

"Peter's a good man." Riley countered with a smirk.

"I told him it was your decision." Audrey smiled. "Then I told him I liked him."

"I like him too."

"You should, and you better hold on to him."

Riley threw her head back into a laugh but disappeared into the little change room, the curtain closing her off from her mother. Audrey shook her head and looked across the store at Morgan, who was just starting to show, the good news having been shared in the car. Walking over, Audrey set her hand on Morgan's shoulder and drew her attention towards her.

"You brought us to Coney Island when we were kids." Morgan grinned. "Riley and I got lost."

"I remember that. I was so worried about you two, I was looking for hours and I couldn't…I never told your mom, you know that?"

"I figured as much seeing as she didn't ground me until I was thirty for wandering away from you, even though it was purely accidental."

"Your mom was never a big fan of me and Riley."

"Trust me, I know." Morgan grinned.

"I practically had to beg her just to let me take you to Coney Island. That was one of the scariest days of my life, I just thank the heavens above that I didn't have to go home without you two."

"I'm sorry Auds." Morgan said with a chuckle. "We never meant to lose you."

"Oh I know that." Audrey bowed her head. "You'll know soon enough since you're going to have a little one of your own but being a parent is hard, it's terrifying and you're constantly in a mild state of worry."

Morgan smiled at Audrey's words and let out a soft sigh, happy because she was pregnant and even happier because she was with the best man ever in Sonny Carisi. Audrey gave her shoulder a pat and sauntered over, taking a seat against the wall and waiting patiently for Riley to emerge from the changing room, Morgan following her lead and sitting in the vacant chair next to Riley's mother.

When Riley _did_ wander out from behind the curtain, she tipped her head back and smiled wide. She looked so beautiful and her mother couldn't help but stare at the woman who had grown up from her baby girl.

"I feel like a princess." Riley announced and her eyes widened with an idea, a grand idea at that. Why hadn't she thought of it sooner? "Jesus, I need a crown!"

"A crown?" Morgan questioned, leaning forward and placing her elbows on her knees, not entirely sure what sort of crown Riley was imagining. Did she want a big fancy one with velvet and giant jewels? Or did she want a simpler one, something that wasn't too overpowering?

"Maybe more like a tiara. Yes, I need a tiara." Riley looked more determined than ever and Audrey couldn't help but let out a laugh at her daughter. "You don't think a tiara is too much, do you?"

"Not at all." Audrey answered sincerely. "I think if you want a tiara for your wedding day then we should get you a tiara."

"Okay." Riley nodded and ran her hands over the front of the shiny satin gown adorning her body. With the thought of finding herself a tiara solidified, she moved back to the task at hand, which was finding a dress for her big day. "Thoughts on this one?"

Morgan studied her friend and gave a silent thank you that they got to do dress shopping without Sonny's bitchy sisters this time. She didn't think she could handle spending any more time in dress boutiques with them, she knew Riley could've handled them; but yes, thank god she didn't have too.

The dress that she had on though, it made her look gorgeous but it didn't feel right to her, it was too shiny, too plain because there weren't any crystal or sparkle accents, it was just too dull for her friend. Riley needed more to her dress.

"Don't take this personally but I'm not a fan of satin." Audrey spoke first. "You look amazing in that dress but I think you need a material that's less shiny, you know?"

Riley cocked her head sideways, "it's decent for a first try in here."

"Definitely." Morgan agreed easily. "Plus if you're going to have a crown, I think you need a few diamonds or something on the dress itself, maybe even some embroidery, something to give it a little bit more ba-bam."

"Yes!" Riley beamed and shot her friend an appreciative smile at the use of her own word. "Something to give it a little bit of an edge."

She turned her back to them and hauled her dress back into the changing room. Audrey slowly rose to her feet and wandered around the store, looking for something that Riley might like. She found a few but when Morgan came up behind her and murmured a hardy 'no', Audrey moved right on to the next dress, the two of them working well as a team.

When Morgan encountered a dress oddly similar to the infamous chandelier dress, she burst out laughing. Audrey's eyes followed Morgan's gaze and noticed the satin gown with big, ugly, tacky crystal accents to it. It was such a big, unflattering dress to look at, and when she saw it here and now, Morgan was thankful that Riley had told her she didn't have to try it on back when she was looking for a dress of her own.

"It's gaudy." Audrey stated with a snort.

"Sonny's sisters picked one out for me that was a lot like this, Riley saved me from trying it on. There was a pretty nasty disagreement over it." Morgan explained.

"Sonny's sisters are interesting characters."

"Interesting is a good word for them." Morgan countered.

Audrey shook her head and carried on, looking around at the dresses lining the walls. She spotted a lovely gown that maybe wasn't as poofy as the last one Riley had on but it was still beautiful nonetheless. The bodice was embroidered with tiny crystal accents and the skirt portion was more like tulle than anything. It was a lovely gown and Audrey wanted nothing more than to see her daughter in it.

"This one." Audrey stated and felt Morgan leaning against her side. "I want to see her in this one."

Morgan reached up and grabbed it by the hanger, she then walked it over to the changing room and hung it on the small hook just outside, her eyes looking over it and falling in love with it more and more with each pass. It was so totally Riley and her mother had done a fine job picking it out, now they just needed to see it _on_.

Riley stepped through the curtain in another ball gown style dress, this one was plain on the bodice with a big old tulle skirt flowing out from her waist, which was accentuated with a crystal embellished belt.

"Getting there." Morgan immediately commented and lifted her hand up to her mouth, not liking how quickly she had shot the gown down, especially considering Riley hadn't said a word about it. What if she had liked it? No, worse, what if she had _loved_ it?

"Yeah, I'm not a fan of this belt thing." Riley scrunched her nose up. "I'm starting to think maybe I should look for different styles and not just ball gowns, you know? I feel like I've painted myself into a corner by stating that I desperately want a ball gown but none of these are working."

"No they're not Ry, but we found a good one." Audrey called from across the store and Morgan, giving Vanna White a run for her money, dramatically waved at the one hanging on the hook. Riley tipped her head sideways and looked at it, her lips slowly curling up into a smile. Yes, this was a good choice, definitely had a softer transition from waist to skirt and the bodice was beautiful, what with all the embroidery and sparkles. "You try that one on, if you don't like it, we'll try a mermaid or something."

Riley nodded her head and Morgan reached out, running her hand over the tulle skirt of the gown she was wearing. It was a nice dress, it just wasn't Riley's dress, but it was nicer than satin, that was for sure.

Grabbing the one they had picked out, Riley went right back into the change room and got to work taking the current dress off so she could put the next one on. Audrey was still wandering around the room but nothing more seemed to catch her eye; she wholeheartedly believed that the dress that she had found already had a great possibility of being the dress for Riley.

Morgan let out a soft sigh and sat down in the chair against the wall. She ran her hand across her stomach and stretched her back out, feeling the effects of her pregnancy starting to wear on her. She was tired, more tired than normal, and she craved food a lot more than she did even a week ago. This wasn't what she was expecting for the beginning of her second trimester, but honestly, she was still just as excited.

"Oh this one's good!" Riley called out from inside and Audrey moved closer to it, preparing herself to witness her daughter when she emerged.

She was _not_ disappointed. The dress was perfect, it hugged her in the right places, it flared out like a ball gown was supposed to but not as sharply as the previous dresses had. The skirt was a sparkly tulle material with an edging around the bottom that glittered in the light, embroidered appliques littered the skirt to match the bodice.

"That's amazing." Morgan gasped, loving the dress on her friend. When she peeled her eyes away from Riley and looked over towards Audrey, she took note that the woman had tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh Ry, you look…you look perfect." Audrey murmured.

"I agree." Riley beamed and twirled in place, the skirt flaring out a little bit. "It's so gorgeous and amazing and I want it."

"You should. Peter will pee his pants when he sees you." Morgan giggled.

"He definitely won't be able to take his eyes off you." Audrey said with a roll of her eyes, knowing full well that a grown man was not going to pee his pants. "I know I certainly can't."

"Should we try it with a veil?" Morgan pressed and Riley immediately shook her head no. "No veil?"

"Crown." Riley said firmly and Audrey let out a snort. "No veil."

"Plus, as I recall, they're a sign of purity." Audrey teased and Riley only smiled wider. "We'll get you a crown worthy of that dress."

Riley reached up and ran her hand through her hair, trying to picture herself walking down the aisle in the very dress she was wearing, a lovely tiara on her head. Yes, she could do it, she could do it easily, this was the dress, there was no way she was not going to be buying this dress.

"This is my dress." Riley whispered and looked down at herself before catching herself in the mirror again. "I don't want to take it off."

Audrey laughed at her daughter's theatrics and shook her head with a smile, easily holding back the tears that had threatened to fall seconds earlier. She walked over to Riley and then circled her, taking in the dress from all angles. There wasn't a thing about it she would change and when she came to stand in front of Riley, she knew there wasn't ever going to be another dress out there for her daughter.

"I love it too." Morgan added, her eyes locked on her friend. "So will Peter."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

The Ferris wheel had been insane, it was better than either girl could remember and as they sat in the seat across from Audrey, Riley and Morgan hugged each other as they looked out at the scenery: the city on one side, the water on the other. The sky was a bright blue and the weather was perfect with a slight breeze up at the top of the Ferris wheel.

The corndogs, slushies and snacks they had eaten while walking had been tastier than they remembered too, and Audrey had even treated them like the good old days. The one thing that was the same as when they were kids but still sucked though were the bathroom lineups. It didn't matter though, there was no breaking Riley's spirits, not now that she had her wedding dress picked out and a better feeling for what she wanted for her wedding.

When the three of them arrived at the hotel, Riley flopped onto the bed closest to the window, once her overnight bag had been chucked to the floor. Morgan was quick to lay on the second bed and Audrey, who had insisted on carrying Morgan's bag, casually sauntered into the room, placing her bag and Morgan's on the top of the table tucked away in the corner.

"I think I got sunburned." Riley whimpered and pressed her fingers into the flesh on her bare shoulders, the sleeves of her t-shirt long since rolled up. "How bad is it?"

Morgan scoffed at her friend and shook her head, "I told you to wear sunscreen but you were all 'no Mo, I'm going to be a bronze goddess'."

"Those were not my words." Riley countered with a roll of her eyes. Morgan slowly sat up in the bed and ran her hands over her stomach, gently scratching it. Audrey smirked at the two of them and headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her (she had been the only one to not wait in the bathroom lineup at Coney Island). "I never burned when I was younger."

"Yeah well, those are the perks of getting old." Morgan teased and threw her legs sideways, planting them on the floor. She stood up and headed for her bag, immediately digging into a pocket on the outside of it. When she found what she was looking for, she tossed the small tube of aloe in Riley's direction but Riley merely watched it as it landed with a small thud on the bed.

"Thanks." Riley murmured and reached her hand out sideways, swiping at the bed and finding the aloe. She lifted it up over her face and popped the top of it open before finally sitting up. Her fingers poked and prodded along her shoulder and she squirted a bit of aloe onto her hand before rubbing it in. "Seriously, how bad is it?"

"Not very." Morgan smiled. "Not at lobster level."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Riley continued to rub the aloe into her skin, grinning at her mother who reappeared from inside the bathroom. Morgan moved to sit on the bed next to Riley and took the aloe from her hand, then she worked on spreading the stuff over her back where she knew Riley couldn't reach.

It had been such a fun day, full of old memories as well as new ones that she'd not soon forget. Coney Island was always fun, but this trip had seemed to come at the perfect time. She needed a girls weekend, she needed to spend time with Riley, Audrey was a bonus, and Morgan knew there weren't going to be many more, if any at all, trips like this before her baby arrived.

"Do you think navy suits are tacky?" Riley asked as Morgan finished rubbing the aloe into her skin. She remained next to her friend though and considered her question.

Audrey walked towards the table in the corner and sat on one of the two chairs there, looking over at the two girls and also considering Riley's question. It seemed like it was out of nowhere but Audrey knew better. Ever since they had managed to find Riley's dress, she knew that her daughter was stuck on details of her wedding, she had said as much when they arrived at the Ferris wheel.

"If you get the right navy, I think they can be hot." Morgan nodded with her own answer. "If you think Peter will look good in a navy suit- well honestly, he'd look good in any suit."

"A nice navy three-piece suit, white shirt underneath, black tie." Audrey threw in her two cents. "He could be your something blue."

Riley snorted at her mother and cocked her head sideways, "I was just thinking about how I see Peter in black all the time, it might be good for a change, you know?"

"And you could get navy shoes." Morgan tossed out. "Because white shoes are good for weddings but not many of your other outfits."

Riley's eyes lit up at the idea of navy shoes. Yes, yes she loved that idea. It wasn't like they'd be seen very much throughout the wedding anyways because her dress was long enough to cover them, but she hated the idea of owning a pair of heels that would only be good for rare occasions- navy blue heels though, she could wear them all the time.

"I'll buy sapphire jewelry for you for your wedding too." Audrey announced.

"Yes!" Riley cried out with excitement. "Jesus, this is…this is the most planning I've done for this whole wedding."

"You're kidding, right?" Morgan retorted.

Riley shook her head no and let out a soft sigh. She still didn't have any ideas for a venue that wasn't a church, but then again, she hadn't really had it as a priority until she had a dress because the dress had to fit the venue. Now that she had a dress though, she could get right on the venue, and then everything else. She just had to fill Peter in on all of the decisions she had made in the last five minutes.

Oh hell, maybe Peter didn't like the idea of a navy suit, maybe he was opposed to the idea. Jesus, now she really needed to talk to him and she needed to make sure they were both on the same page.

"Places book months in advance." Morgan pointed out. "You should get on that."

"Well then." Riley breathed out and hopped to her feet. "Any ideas on an indoor venue that's _not_ a church?"

Audrey straightened at her daughter's request and she beamed, "Yankees stadium, the diamond."

"What?" Riley leveled her mom with a look of confusion mixed with excitement. "Can I do that?"

"No." Morgan butted in. "First of all, that would cost a fortune, and second of all, you'd get dirt on your dress."

Riley looked at Morgan, nodding her understanding. No she certainly didn't want to get dirt on her dress, plus Yankees stadium didn't have a roof, so that didn't technically make it an indoor venue. She didn't want to deal with rain, or even snow, not if she didn't have to.

"Right, so other ideas?" Riley pressed.

"Oh how about an aquarium?" Audrey offered.

Riley considered the idea but she knew how hard it would be to have decent pictures, plus it was always so dim in aquariums with hazy blue lighting. The idea of being surrounded by underwater creatures _did_ have a tiny bit of appeal but it wasn't what she wanted. She shook her head at her mother's idea and looked over to Morgan, who would maybe have a better idea.

"What about like an old barn or something?" Morgan suggested.

Riley leveled her with a glare and shook her head at her idea too. God what was wrong with these people? With a small sigh, Riley pulled out her phone from her pocket and began to look for enclosed venues in New York. Morgan merely watched Riley as she worked and her mother let out a low chuckle. If it had been that easy, why hadn't Riley done it already?

" _The Foundry_." Riley announced.

"The what?" Morgan pressed.

"It's like if a big fancy industrial building and a greenhouse had a baby." Riley explained and turned her phone towards Morgan, showing her the very picture of what she had just described.

The building itself was large and had oversized windows lining the walls, a balcony surrounded the entire thing with a ceiling made of glass and the photographs of the place were of the venue with decorations already good enough for a wedding. It seemed like a great place for a wedding, but again, she was deciding all of this without Peter's input.

"That is gorgeous." Audrey remarked as soon as Riley turned the phone towards her to give her a look. "Seems like a great place for my little girl to get married."

"I agree!" Morgan called out. "Send that link to Peter, _now_."

Riley paused for all of two seconds before doing exactly as Morgan had commanded her to. She dropped her phone to her side and looked at Morgan then her mother, wondering how much more wedding planning she could get done while spending the night here in the hotel in Coney Island.

"See if there's any fancy jewelers around here, we can go look at tiaras tomorrow." Audrey instructed and just before Riley had a chance to do just that on her phone, it began to vibrate in her hand. She looked at the screen and smiled at the sight of Peter's name, then she quickly answered it and made her way out of the room and into the hallway.

"Hey." She said softly, hearing the door shut behind her. She leaned against the wall and felt her body relax at the mere fact that she was on the phone with the man she was going to marry.

"This place you sent me, what's that about?" Peter asked and she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

"The wedding."

" _Our_ wedding?"

"Yeah." She breathed the word out.

"Looks good to me."

"What, really? It's that easy?" Riley pressed, part of her was happy that he was agreeing so quickly but another part of her wanted to make sure that he got what he wanted for their wedding too. "I'm open to other ideas."

"I think this _Foundry_ is a great idea."

"Huh, okay because we tossed around the idea of Yankees stadium and the aquarium."

"And you shot those down?" He asked in a teasing tone. "This place looks good."

"Okay." She blew out a breath and brought her free arm up, crossing it over her chest and looking down the hallway towards the big window to outside. "How do you feel about wearing blue?"

"Blue?"

"A nice, dark, navy blue suit."

Peter fell silent on the other end and she wondered if she had lost him at the idea of wearing blue.

She could press it, find out why he was opposed to it and try to compromise, but she could also work with him not wanting to wear blue.

"Blue." Peter repeated the word and she nodded her head, even though she knew he couldn't see her. "I'd have to see it but I don't see why not."

Her eyes lit up and she let out a low whistle. Why was this so easy to do with him? Why was he so agreeable to what she wanted? Okay, so maybe she knew why, he loved her and trusted her and wanted her to be happy, but she wanted him to be happy to.

"I found my dress." She said softly. "It's so pretty."

"Well that's not fair." He countered. "Now I have to wait until October seventeenth to see you in it."

"At _The Foundry_." She teased.

"Yes, did you want me to call this place?"

"Yes!" She hissed, excitement lacing her tone. "Oh my god please do."

"Will do then. Any other wedding details you want to talk about?"

"Uh," she hesitated and debated her answer. She didn't really have anything else to run by him, at this point it was more just her dress and finding her tiara. "No, I think that's all."

"Okay, then you get back to Morgan and your mom."

"Will do. Love you."

"Love you too."

She ended the phone call and turned to the door, immediately remembering that she did not have a key card to get in. For Christ's sake.

Lifting her hand up, she pounded her fist on the door and within a few seconds, her mom had the door open with an expectant look on her face. Riley made a funny face in response and brushed past her, sitting at the table that her mother was previously occupying. Audrey followed her lead and the two of them sat across from each other while Morgan remained on the bed.

"You two okay if I take a shower?" Morgan questioned, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

"Go for it." Audrey waved her on and Morgan was quick to get to her feet, going for her bag on the table and pulling out her pajamas that she had packed.

They didn't have plans to go out anywhere that night and she was looking forward to showering, putting on her comfy pajamas and getting into bed, maybe calling Sonny in there somewhere too. When Morgan had her stuff gathered in her arms, she disappeared into the bathroom leaving mother and daughter alone at the table.

Neither one said anything until they heard the water start up, leaving Morgan out of the loop of any conversations they may have.

"Does she know you can't have kids?" Audrey asked in a low tone and Riley slowly shook her head no. "She was telling me about how she can't wait for you to have a baby of your own while you were in the hall. I figured you hadn't told her but I wanted to hear it from you."

"I can't." Riley murmured.

"You should." Audrey pressed, voice still low in case Morgan _could_ hear them, even though she doubted she heard anything more than the water running.

"Mom-"

"What do you say to her when she mentions babies to you?" Audrey cut her off and Riley pressed her lips together for a second.

"I told her that Peter wanted to focus on his career."

"Ry…" Audrey trailed off, disappointment etched on her face. "Morgan would understand, she's not going to think less of you just because you can't have kids."

"I just don't know why she needs to know." Riley countered.

Audrey rolled her eyes at her daughter's proclamation. Morgan was Riley's best friend, and as far as Audrey was concerned, they told each other everything, except, apparently, this one major secret. Morgan deserved to know, at least then she could support Riley and know what was up, especially when (years down the road) the flimsy excuse of Peter's career wouldn't hold up anymore.

"You need to tell her." Audrey pressed.

"Mom-"

"No Riley. You don't get to hide this, this is huge and she deserves to know, especially if she thinks you _can_ have kids and keeps saying things like 'she can't wait for you to have a baby too'."

"I…mom how do you even tell someone that?" Riley quipped, sadness in her eyes.

"Use your words." Audrey shrugged. "If you want to take the easy way out, write her a letter, but you have _got_ to tell her."

Riley let out a low groan and slumped down in her chair further. She knew her mother had a point but it was a lot harder than she was suggesting. Riley didn't want to tell Morgan, she didn't want her to know because that made it a problem for Morgan, a problem that Morgan wouldn't be able to help her solve.

Morgan was going to have a baby of her own too, she definitely didn't want to take any importance away from that fact by telling her that she couldn't have kids of her own.

"Fine, I'll tell her."

"Soon."

"Mom-"

"Riley, it'll be fine."

Sucking in a breath, Riley considered her mom's words. It might be fine, sure, but how did she know, how could she say that with such confidence? What if it wasn't fine? What if this just spiraled into something worse, what if Morgan turned into some extra-sensitive person every time the word 'baby' came up?

She didn't want things to ever be awkward between her and Morgan.

"She's your best friend, she loves you."

Riley sucked in a breath and knew that her mom was right. All she had to do now was figure out _when_ to tell Morgan, and more importantly, _how_.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Where were they?

Good lord, she had been home from Coney Island for ten minutes and she was already starting to feel the panic set it. Morgan swore she had some before she had left the day before but they were nowhere to be found.

Where had they gone too?

"Sonny!" She cried out and slammed the cupboard door shut, planting her butt against the edge of the counter and trying to force herself to breath. "Sonny!

She rolled her eyes at his lack of response but turned away from the cupboard and moved to the next one, hoping and praying that she could find the god damn Oreos. Her sanity depended on it, it was all she wanted, all she craved, and she wasn't going to give up until she found them _but_ the places they could be hiding were disappearing.

Growling, Morgan squatted down and pulled open the cupboard underneath the counter, her eyes locking on the boxes of crackers and dried pasts but not finding the stupid Oreos.

"No, no. Where are you?" She was starting to panic, staring to freak out. All she wanted was a fucking cookie, was that too much to ask for? "Sonny!"

She _finally_ heard his footsteps come rushing out from the bedroom and when he closed in on her, he tipped his head sideways in confusion. She was crouched on the floor in front of the cupboard looking for god only knew what- what the hell did she need him for?

"Mo, what's up?" He asked casually, trying to keep himself calm, which would, in turn, hopefully keep her calm. When she peered over her shoulder at him, it was clear that calm was not a word he would use to describe Morgan at that very moment.

There were tears welling up in her eyes and her lip was quivering. What the hell had her so rattled, for crying out loud, she hadn't even been home that long, so what had her this upset this quickly?

"Oreos." She murmured and dropped her butt to the floor, turning so her back was against the front of the cupboard. "I want cookies."

"Okay, okay we'll get you cookies." Sonny smiled back at her and crouched down beside her, his gaze peering into the cupboard to look and make sure she hadn't missed the Oreos she was searching for.

"Sonny Bunny I just want Oreos." She whimpered and when he looked over at her, tears were flooding out from her eyes, running down her cheek. He sucked in his cheeks and tried desperately not to laugh at her, instead, he continued looking for the cookies and then, when he didn't find them, dropped down to sit beside her, tucking her under his arm and holding her against his side.

"They're just Oreos." He said with a snicker and she let out a low sob. Oh, okay, they were going _there_ today. This wasn't the first time she had done something like this, in fact, the further along in the pregnancy she got, the more irrational her mood swings seemed to be.

"What are you laughing at me?" Morgan asked with a pout, catching his little snicker. "Sonny…"

"You're just cute, that's all doll." He countered and made a move to get up but she clung to his arm, burying her face in his shoulder and letting out another low sob. "I can get you more Oreos."

"Where are you going _now_ thought? You can't leave me, don't leave me, please?" She sounded borderline hysterical and all Sonny could do was hold her tighter and fight off the urge to laugh at her. It was too adorable how emotional she got over cookies, yet here she was, in tears over a sandwich cookie. "I want cuddles."

"I thought you wanted Oreos."

"Before yeah." She whispered and tipped her head back, looking up at the side of his face. Tears continued to flood out of her eyes and she sucked in a shaky breath, trying to regain her composure but having zero luck. "Now I want cuddles."

"Why don't you come with me to get Oreos?" Sonny offered and made another move to pull away but her fingers dug into his arm, holding on to him like a koala on a tree branch. "I can cuddle you while we get cookies."

"Don't want to move, plus I'm ugly when I cry and I don't want people to see me." She mumbled.

He reached his free hand up and ran it through her hair, trying desperately to soothe her. Okay well this little emotional episode was a lot more complex than the last one but Sonny wasn't deterred. He was a smart guy, he could figure this out, he could get Oreos without leaving the house, and ultimately Morgan.

He dug his phone out of his pocket and brought up a group text with Barba, Stone and Riley, requesting for any of them to bring by some Oreos. He hoped, and prayed, that at least one of them would come through for him.

When the phone began ringing in his hold, he let out a soft sigh and answered it, not entirely sure what he was expecting Barba to say to him.

"I'm a busy man." Barba barked at him and Sonny peered down at Morgan, who was still crying but also still cuddled up tight against his side. "You got her pregnant, you get her the cookies yourself. Me, I just do Broadway and shopping."

"Okay, you were definitely the wrong person to text." Sonny grumbled. "You don't understand though, I'm desperate-"

"I'm sure you are. Sex, and all its repercussions are your department though, call me when she wants to go shopping." Barba fired back and before Sonny could argue, or more likely plead, he had hung up on him.

Well that was just great, just great indeed. On the bright side, he still had two other people who could very well pull through for him. Riley loved Morgan, she would definitely do anything for her best friend, right? Oh god he hoped so, he didn't know what he was going to do if neither one of them showed up soon with Oreos.

Morgan grumbled against him and he readjusted his hold on her, catching the sad look in her eyes. Her tears had slowed though, which was a good sign for him. He just prayed that he could keep her from crying again any time soon, but with the rate she was going, he didn't think that'd be all that easy.

She was crazy hormonal, her moods swings were pure chaos and Sonny wondered if it was like this for all pregnant women or if there was something special about _his_ pregnant woman.

"Oreos." Morgan whimpered. "All I wanted was Oreos, like is that too much to want?"

"I can go get-"

"No, you stay here with me, you're cozy and warm and squishy." Morgan let out a soft sigh and deflated against him. He set his phone on his thigh and lifted his hand up, running it through her hair again in an attempt to calm her down. She seemed to be relaxing against him even more, if that was at all possible, and when her body seemed to be just shy of going totally limp, he breathed a sigh of relief.

They sat there in silence for- well he didn't even know how long it was, but as long as Morgan was calm, he wasn't going to complain.

When a loud knock sounded out from the door, Sonny jumped and Morgan tensed against him. He made a move to get up but she refused to let go of him still, in fact, she held on to him tighter, so tight he could feel her finger nails digging into his arm through his shirt.

"Come in!" Sonny called out, not entirely sure what other option he had.

When the door slowly opened, he remained tensed, hoping that it was his personal cookie delivery but knowing it could very well be _anyone_. When Peter Stone stepped through the door though, Sonny let out a sigh of relief and lifted his hand into the air to wave him over. Peter looked confused but wandered into the apartment further, stopping in front of the two of them, who were still cuddled up and residing against the cupboard door.

"Hey Peter Rabbit." Morgan smiled and looked up at him.

"She okay?" Peter asked, only looking at Sonny.

"She's good, she's just pregnant." Sonny nodded.

Peter held out the small plastic bag that he had in his hand and when Sonny took it, he threw Morgan a smile.

Inside the bag were multiple packs of Oreos; golden Oreos, original Oreos, thin Oreos and double-stuffed Oreos. This guy was a godsend and Sonny grinned at him, pulling out the original package and handing it over to Morgan, who grabbed it like a ravenous animal who hadn't eaten in days.

She ripped the packaging open without any thought and grabbed one single Oreo, stuffing the whole thing into her mouth and chewing it with a smile of her own. As soon as the cookie was thoroughly chewed, she turned to Sonny but peered up at Peter one more time.

"Look Sonny Bunny, he has brought us Oreos, how funny." She giggled and grabbed for a second Oreo, this time eating it in a more civilized manner.

"Yeah, how funny. He _must_ be a mind reader." Sonny replied, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his town. "Dude, you're my hero."

"The hero Gotham deserves." Morgan yipped from next to him.

"Right well, if she's okay, then I'm going to be on my way." Peter announced, staring at Sonny, who merely mouthed the words 'I owe you' at him. Morgan seemed much more content now than when he had wandered in and part of him was curious about what the hell was going on?

If this was all because she was pregnant, maybe Riley was lucky that she hadn't had to go through this yet. He was sort of scared even, it was the first time he'd ever seen a woman devour an Oreo in the manner that Morgan had.

"Say hi to Ry for me?" Morgan called out and Peter gave her a nod before stepping back towards the door. "And tell her I miss her already."

"You just saw…okay I will tell her." Peter gave her another nod and before he could get dragged into anything more, he vanished through the door, shutting it behind him.

Sonny let out a sigh of relief that his friend had come through. Hell, there was a reason why Peter had been his best man over Barba and this incident just sealed it. Peter Stone was a much better friend to him when it came to things like Morgan needing Oreos. There weren't a lot of people out there who would've dropped by just to bring Morgan cookies.

"Cuddles and cookies." Morgan said with a smile.

"Yes, are you good now?"

"Yeah." She nodded and relaxed against him, munching away on her cookies. She straightened up though and let out a gasp. "You know what would be good right now? Beef Wellington?"

Sonny could only fight off the urge to groan. When was this going to end? Oh right, once his baby came into this world. That thought alone was worth having to deal with Morgan's constant cravings.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Peter wandered into his own house carrying a package of Oreos for himself, he set it on the counter and wandered up the stairs towards his bedroom, pausing in front of Riley's office and peering in, catching sight of her looking at her books, a couple of them stacked on the corner of her desk. He wasn't sure but he figured they were ones she hadn't read yet and planned to read the next time she started a book.

Stepping into the office, he cleared his throat and caught her attention, Riley turning to face him and smiling before going right back to looking through the books on her shelves, barely giving him a second thought. She continued scanning the books, apparently looking for certain ones, and Peter merely watched her, carefully taking in the sheer happiness that came from Riley's books.

"I feel bad for Sonny, he's got to deal with moody, food-craving, pregnant Morgan." Peter remarked, he stopped moving and lowered himself down to sit in her desk chair, setting his elbows on his knees and stealing a quick look at the book on top of her little pile. "She was crying over Oreos."

"I'd cry over Oreos too, they're worth it." She teased in response and grabbed another book off the shelf, flipping it over and reading the back before adding it to the small pile on the desk. "I'd probably have a panic attack over a good peanut butter chocolate chunk."

"You would not." He groaned and leaned back in the chair, running his hands through his hair. Sometimes the idea of her joking about panic attacks got under his skin, but he knew it was her way of dealing with it. If she joked about it, she took away the power.

"I might if I was pregnant." She chuckled but paused upon realizing that she wasn't and she had yet to _be_ pregnant. Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best response, but it was partially true. What would stop her from crying over something as asinine as Oreos if she ever did manage to get pregnant? "She's good though?"

He studied Riley, looking for signs that she was aware of what she had said, or that it bothered her if it did. When he concluded that she seemed okay, Peter straightened up in the chair and grabbed the book she had most recently set down.

"She'll be fine." Peter said and flipped the hardcover over, studying the back of it and reading the synopsis, narrowing his eyes at the description of the story. "What are you doing anyways?"

Riley paused and peered over her shoulder at him, watching as he looked at the back of the book in his hands. She waited for a few seconds for him to finish and when he tipped his head back, meeting her gaze, she smirked.

"Looking for what I want to read next." She answered with a grin. "It's a very thorough process."

"I can see, you're already at four books that you want to read next?"

"Yeah, that's about normal." She gave him a chuckle and focused back on the task at hand, apparently she wasn't done just yet.

"This one seems…" Peter trailed off and ran his finger along the spine, "it doesn't seem like your genre."

"Totally agree! I wasn't sure how I felt about that book but it's a new Mindy McGinnis, her stuff has yet to disappoint so I figured I'd give it a chance." Riley explained, taking hold of yet another book and setting it on her desk.

"One of your favourite authors." He gave a nod of his head and swapped it out for the one she had _just_ set down, looking at the cover with curiosity. "Does Morgan read?"

Riley paused and turned to face him directly, shaking her head no. Peter set the book back on the desk and rose to his feet, moving to stand beside her as she went back to looking over her books. He set his hand across her back and gently tugged her towards him so that her body was against his.

"We worked perfectly as a pair in high school see because she liked English, except the reading part, and I liked math and science." Riley stated. "One time we got an assignment in science and I did it all while she sat there fanning me like the Queen of the room. God the teacher got so mad."

"If she didn't like the reading part, how can you say she liked English?"

"Oh she was a whiz when it came to Shakespeare and all the technical shit. I like numbers, things that are solid and definite." Riley smiled. "Hence the engineering degree."

"Yeah but English doesn't lead to policing." Peter pointed out with a laugh.

"Some people have careers that make sense, others less so." Riley offered with a shrug, still smiling though. Morgan had always been her best friend and in high school they had been inseparable.

They balanced each other out, even liked different types of guys, which led to few, if any, fighting. Their high school courses had taken different directions the further they got into their four years of schooling, but nothing seemed to get in between them. They had enough in common to relate to each other, they were the ying to each other's yang.

"I was just friends with guys on the baseball team." Peter remarked casually.

"Fancy." Riley grinned. "I was more into football back in high school but it's not like high school boys have the same body definition in baseball pants as older men."

"Plus, football is where you get to watch people tackle other people." He teased.

Peter gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and she let out a soft laugh, resting her head against his shoulder. She couldn't help but reminisce about her high school days and all the fun her and Morgan had during that time. She loved having Morgan as a best friend and she was grateful that they were _still_ best friends.

"I'm _going_ to tell her." Riley whispered.

"Tell her what?"

Riley stuck her tongue out at him but blew out a sigh, "Morgan deserves to know about my fertility issues, plus my mom sort of told me I had to when we were at Coney Island."

Peter looked at her, pausing for a few seconds, "if that's what you want."

"I think she should know." Riley bowed her head and held her breath, releasing it seconds later, her body relaxing at the action. "I just don't know _how_ to tell her."

"Blurt it out." Peter suggested and Riley scoffed at him. "Okay, why don't you invite her out for coffee or something?"

With a soft sigh, Riley took his words to heart. It seemed simple enough but would it suffice, would she be able to tell Morgan in a place like a coffee shop or would she rather meet Morgan in a private place where she couldn't embarrass herself in front of people?

"Too bad she's pregnant or I could just get her drunk and tell her."

"I don't recommend that anyway." Peter said.

"Hey, why don't _you_ tell her?" Riley asked with a wide-eyed look up at him. He didn't respond right away and Riley felt like maybe he was actually considering it, but when he shook his head, she felt herself saddening. She was going to have to do this herself, he wasn't going to help her out.

"I can be there with you when you tell her if you want." Peter offered and she ran her hand up his chest, fisting the material of shirt in her hold.

"No, I can do it." Riley confessed, blowing out a nervous breath. "I'll call her tomorrow and see if we can't meet up sometime."

Peter twisted her in his hold and brought her tight against his chest, embracing her in a gesture of comfort. She clung to him and buried her face in his shirt, knowing that this was going to be really hard to do. She was scared to tell Morgan about her issues, she didn't _want_ to but she knew Morgan deserved to know.

When she pulled away from him, he kept a hold of her hand, linking his fingers with hers and keeping her near him. Peter lifted his other hand up and brushed her hair behind her ear, gingerly pressing his palm against the side of her neck and ghosting his thumb along her jaw.

"Want some good news?" He asked in a voice barely louder than a whisper. Riley took her bottom lip in between her teeth and slowly gave a firm nod of her head. "I called that place, _The Foundry_ , and it's available for October Seventeenth."

Her eyed widened in excitement and she tensed, "okay?"

"I put down a refundable deposit on it and we just have to go do a walkthrough, but once we do that, the place is all ours."

"You really are the best." She smiled, feeling her heart welling up with pride at the man in front of her. "Seriously."

"It's the nicest place I've seen that's indoors and not a church."

"Right?" Her smile widened. "I will forever maintain that if Yankees stadium had a roof though, we'd totally be getting married there."

"I could probably get us a deal on Citi Field, but it doesn't have a roof either."

"Ugh no Peter, the Mets fucking suck." She threw her head back in disgust at his joke but when she looked back at him, she was still smiling.

"I know." He chuckled at her.

"When's the walkthrough?"

"Tuesday at six. We can go out for a late dinner after?" He suggested and she moved onto her tip toes, pressing a quick kiss against his lips. "That a yes?"

"Yes. Sounds great."

"Almost as great as getting married at Yankees stadium." Peter teased.

Riley snorted at him and shook her head, "my dress would get dirty."

"Lay down a carpet."

"Wait, can we…can we do that?" She was practically vibrating at the thought.

"Seriously?"

Sucking in a breath, she shook her head no, more to convince herself than him. She didn't want to get married in a baseball stadium, but part of her loved the idea of sharing the same diamond that the Yankees played on, it sounded like such a neat idea. _The Foundry_ was a beautiful venue and it seemed like a great place to marry Peter.

"It sounds good in theory but I don't think it's practical." She stated. "And honestly, I just want to marry you, I don't even care where really."

He smiled at her and she smiled back at him, "what's this about a navy-blue suit?"

Riley could only laugh as she freed her phone from her back pocket and pulled up the photo that her and Morgan had managed to find while in the hotel at Coney Island. He looked at her phone and nodded his approval. It looked pretty spiffy, and he wasn't opposed to the colour, so long as it was dark enough to not be tacky.

"See, navy blue suit, white shirt, black tie. I only like blue because I see you in plain old black suits all the time, this way it's something a little different."

"I still want to try it on but I like it."

Riley leaned forward and gave his jaw a little kiss before pulling away completely. She merely grinned at him, tucked her phone back into her pocket and went right back to work looking for the book she was going to read next. Peter took a seat back in the chair and merely watched her, stacking up the pile neatly as she worked.

"Hey, can you pull out some of your favourites?" He asked and she shot him a confused look over her shoulder. "I want to read them."

"Okay…" She seemed skeptical but before he knew what was happening, she tossed a hardcover at him, Peter catching it just before it landed against his gut. "You just opened a can of worms bud. And for the record, I will not be doing anything law related for you, capiche?"

Peter could only laugh.


	26. Chapter 26

The package made her uneasy, sitting there on the kitchen counter just waiting to be opened. Audrey Prescott have never once sent her a package such as this, which only served to knot Morgan's stomach. She stared at it, wondering what it could be, but fearful of actually opening it.

It had to be something serious in order for the older woman to send her a package, right?

Blowing out a breath, Morgan stepped closer to it and grabbed the sides of it, giving it a gentle shake but not hearing much from inside. It wasn't a very big package, but it was big enough to catch her attention. If this was from Riley's mom, did she know about it? Did she have something to do with it?

Morgan ran her hands along the side of it and worked up the courage to just open it. She grabbed at the tape securing it shut and managed to get through it, ripping the flaps of the box open and peering inside at a small stuffed animal resting on top of a large book. When she moved the little stuffed dog, she read the title of the book and instantly broke out into a grin.

"A baby name book. Audrey you _are_ a genius." Morgan lifted the stuffed dog completely out of the box and set it on the counter, smiling at the plain brown stuffie in appreciation. This was the first present the baby had gotten and it excited her to know that it was from Audrey.

The baby name book was heavier than Morgan was expecting but she hauled it out, leaving the box on the counter, and headed for the couch, flopping down onto it and letting out a contented sigh. She didn't get two pages in before Sonny came in through the front door, peeling off his suit jacket as he moved.

He shut the door behind him, throwing the lock across and wandering right for the bedroom without a word in her direction. She didn't really care, she was too busy running her finger along the page she had open, loving the fact that Audrey had sent her something so thoughtful.

A few minutes later Sonny emerged from the bedroom in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He headed right for her and sat down next to her, peering over at the book with a furrowed eyebrow.

"Am I supposed to be thinking of names already?" He asked and she turned her head to face him, beaming.

"Audrey sent this."

"Riley's mom? _That_ Audrey?" Sonny pressed, Morgan jerking her thumb in the direction of the kitchen.

"She even sent a little stuffed dog for the baby…I mean I assume it's for the baby."

"You're a little old for stuffed animals." He teased setting his arm around her shoulders and letting her sidle up against him. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head and she turned her attention back to the book in her hands. "You get very far with names?"

Shaking her head no, she settled in against him and took her bottom lip in between her teeth in concentration. The name they eventually decided on would be stuck with their child forever, this was a big decision, huge actually, and Morgan didn't want to screw it up. She didn't want to pick a stupid name, or a name that would bite her kid in the ass while growing up, she wanted it to be perfect.

"Morgan Junior if it's a girl." Morgan said with a firm, confident nod of her head.

"Obviously." Sonny chuckled.

"Dominick Junior Junior?" She looked up at him with a confused expression. "Is that how that would work if we…if we wanted to do that?"

"I think it'd be more like Dominick the third."

Morgan snorted and immediately shook her head no, "I hope you weren't planning on naming the kid Dominick at all."

Sonny gave her shoulder a nudge with his knuckle, "nope, hadn't even crossed my mind."

Blowing out a sigh of relief, she tipped her head back and rested it against the couch, peering up at the ceiling and silently praying that she'd pick a good name. There were so many options, which was obvious by the sheer size and volume of the book in her possession, so it wasn't like she didn't have some choices, but she had to make the _right_ choice.

"Are you hoping for a boy or girl?" Morgan asked, still looking upwards.

"Whatever Mo, so long as it's healthy and happy."

"Are we going to find out before?" She pressed, her head lulling sideways so she was looking at him more than the ceiling. "Or did you want it to be a surprise?"

He didn't answer right away, instead taking a minute to think hard about her question. There were pros and cons to both options, not knowing would be super exciting, but also, knowing would provide them with the ability to get ready before the baby came. They could pick out a colour and not one that was gender neutral, they could buy items for the baby that would suit one gender over the other and they could narrow down options for names by half.

"I think I want to find out, but if you want it to be a surprise, I can deal with that." Sonny answered as honestly and diplomatically as he could.

"I think I want to find out too." She smiled. "I want to put together either a boy's room or a girl's room, not some unknown room. It'd be more personal that way, you know? Plus I don't always do well with surprises."

Sonny let out a laugh and reached over, taking her hand in his. He slipped his fingers between hers and lifted it up, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. She let out a soft sigh and curled into the couch further, letting his body keep her warm and provide her with comfort she sought out more often than not lately.

"Can I run something by you?" Sonny questioned and she looked at him, eyes wide with intrigue. "There used to be this guy that I worked with and he uh, well he died, he was shot…"

Morgan twisted her body towards his and gave the hand holding hers a reassuring squeeze. She could sense that whatever he was going to ask her was obviously something that brought up some pretty awful memories. She hadn't heard of this guy in their past but then again, it wasn't like they talked all that much about their previous colleagues, hell, aside from running into her former partner at the gala, Sonny would have never even met Ben Cohen.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Morgan murmured and Sonny sucked in a breath, holding it for a few seconds before letting it out.

"Anyways, his name was Mike Dodds and I just thought that maybe if we happened to have a boy, we could name him Michael."

Michael. Well that seemed like a nice enough name- reasonably picked too. It was normal enough not to draw attention to a child but not overly simple as to not let her kid stand out a tiny bit.

"I like that." Morgan gave him a solemn nod. "Michael Carisi. Well there's one problem solved."

"One problem?"

"He'd still need a middle name." Morgan giggled. "Thank god we have a book full of possibilities though."

Sonny blew out another breath but seemed to relax now that he had gotten that off his chest. Pressing another kiss to the side of her head, he settled in and waited for her to start going through the book, the two of them able to look for a middle name for their boy, if that's what they were even having.

Morgan took Michael into consideration and scrunched up her nose at the thought currently running through her head.

"What's that look for?" Sonny quipped.

"I was just thinking…if it's a girl, do we name her Mikayla?" Morgan countered.

Sonny thought about her question and hesitantly shook his head no, "not this time. If we happen to have another girl though, we can consider it, but I think this baby needs two very different options for names."

Morgan smiled at him, understanding what he meant. She didn't want that to be the end of choosing the baby's first name, no, currently she still had a girl's name to pick out and nothing was going to stop her. There were so many choices for a girl, she didn't want to be stuck on Mikayla, not yet anyways.

Yes, if this baby was a girl, and so was the next one, then they'd definitely revisit Mikayla as a choice, but for now, Morgan wanted something completely different. With her luck, she'd have a girl the first time and name her Mikayla, then have a boy the second time and wind up naming him Michael.

How awkward.

"I feel like since you're Italian, our baby should have an Italian sounding middle name." Morgan suggested.

"Like Benito, Carlos, Arturo, Bruno-"

"Those are Italian?" Morgan cut him off with a worried look on her face.

"Yeah." Sonny said with a chuckle. "Rocco, Luca, Vito, Salvatore, Emilio-"

"Oh my god stop." Morgan cried out, shaking her head. "Those sound terrifying, like our kid could run a mob one day."

"Hey, if that's what he wants to do."

"No." Morgan continued shaking her head. "Don't you have any non-threatening Italian names tucked away?"

Sonny thought about it for a minute, "Anthony?"

"Anthony." She repeated it, letting it marinate for a second. "Michael Anthony Carisi."

"Has a solid ring to it."

Morgan repeated the name in her head a few times, each time she grew more and more used to it. It was a nice name, simple enough to not confuse people but fancy enough for her child to hold it as his moniker, if they happened to have a boy of course.

"I like it." Morgan approved. "What about girl names? You got any of those that sounds Italian?"

"Elena, Gabriella, Gianna, Antonella-"

"Nope." She broke in. "Hardy nope to all of those. If I don't want my son sounding like a mobster, I certainly don't want my daughter to sound like one either."

"We've got time to figure it out, hell, we might not even have to."

They could easily find out they were going to have a boy and then it wouldn't even matter what female name they came up with. In a few short weeks, they'd get to know what their first child would be, and Morgan was excited about it. She wasn't sure what she wanted to have but honestly, like Sonny had said earlier, it didn't matter so long as the baby was healthy and happy.

This had been a fairly productive conversation as far as Morgan was concerned. They were halfway to figuring out two opposite gender options, which was a lot further along than they had gotten in the last little while.

"Where are we going to put baby Carisi?" Morgan asked, blurting out the question. "It's not like this apartment has a spare bedroom or anything, we can't exactly have a nursery just sheeted off of the living room slash dining room area. We also can't have a baby in our room for much more than like a year."

"Well maybe you have a point." He cocked his head sideways.

"Plus this place is barely big enough for you and me, can you imagine throwing a baby into the mix?"

"I think the baby should have a room of its own."

"Right? I want to put together a nursey, I want to paint walls and put up wooden letters that spell out our kids name, I want…I don't know Sonny."

Sonny leaned towards her and pulled his phone out of the pocket on his jeans. He made quick work of unlocking the screen, pulling up something and then turning it to face her. Morgan studied the link on the screen that he showed her and she gaped at the sight of a list of houses, the book of names collapsing to the vacant seat on the couch beside her.

"I got the name of Stone's guy." Sonny stated casually.

"He just offered it to you?"

"I asked him if he recommended him, then when he said he did, I asked him for his number. I contacted him a week or so ago and he's pulling together some listings for us to visit next weekend." Sonny offered with a slight shrug. "That is, if you really _want_ to move."

Morgan's eyes widened at his words and she leaned in closer to him, practically resting her forehead against his and staring into his eyes. God he was such a thinker, a problem solver, here he was one step ahead of her. She had barely even thought about where to put the baby until now, the sheer excitement of having a child of her own had taken precedent over most of her daily life.

"I want a house." Morgan murmured. "I want a house of our very own. With room for a nursery, _oh_ and a second bedroom for the second kid we're going to have."

Sonny grinned at her and tipped his head, pecking her on the lips, agreeing with her on all fronts. She let out a soft moan at his kiss but he pulled away, freeing his hand from hers and resting his one palm against her hip, his other hand still holding his cell phone tightly. Having a house of their very own had been on his mind ever since she had announced to him that she was pregnant, but things had gotten hectic.

Now was a good time to look, and if they were lucky, they'd be able to get all moved into a house before the baby made his or her grand entrance into the world.

"Good, me too Mo, I want all of that with you. You okay to go next weekend to look at places?"

Morgan nodded her head once, "please, yes. I want a house- no I want a home, so bad, and I want it with you too."

"Perfect, then it's settled. We're going to buy a house."

She let out a contented sigh and made a move to kiss him again, but he dropped his phone to the couch cushion and set his other hand on her other hip. Before she knew what was happening, he was lifting her up off the couch, her legs wrapping all the way around him as he supported her, holding her against his front.

"Oh Sonny Bunny, where _are_ you taking me?" She purred and nipped at his earlobe, eliciting a groan from him.

"To bed, we might not have this place for much longer." He grinned. "What do you say Mrs. Carisi, shall we start practicing for baby number two?"

"Hmm, yes please."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

House hunting was turning out to be exhausting but Morgan was trying to keep herself enthused. So far they had seen two houses and neither one was the home for her. She didn't like the neighbourhood, nor did she like the layouts, the whole house on their second visit was something that gave her 'the skeevies'.

When she had announced that very thing, Sonny had merely rolled his eyes but carried on to the third property, hoping they were getting closer to finding something that Morgan liked, and that he agreed on. At this point in time, he'd settle for Morgan saying it was 'okay', at least then, he'd have somewhere to start on the next round of property visits because the way their day was going, Sonny figured he'd be having a few more days like today before they managed to find a place to live.

Peter's real estate guy was doing well though, he was patient with Morgan, not pushing her or making fun of some of the things she said about the houses, but it was clear, when the third house was a no-go just the like previous options, that he was growing tried too.

"How many more for today?" She whined, sitting in the back of the real estate agent's car as they headed to the fourth property on the list. Sonny pulled out a folded piece of paper and looked at the five listings there.

"Two more, the next one and one more." Sonny answered.

"Ugh, stupid Riley finding her house on the first day." Morgan grumbled. "She's got a damn horseshoe up her butt."

"Or maybe Stone knew what to look for in a house for her." Sonny offered up. "I believe she gave him a list."

"You never asked me for a list." Morgan spat at him and ran her palms across her lower abdomen. "If I knew that would've made this easier, then I would've come up with a huge, giant list."

Sonny bit back a reply, not wanting to get into an argument today. He knew Morgan was moody and most likely extremely tired, which would lead to her grumpiness, so he didn't want to push her. She was carrying his baby after all; he could let her be grumpy with him every once in a while.

"Today isn't a total failure." Brett spoke up from his place in the driver's seat. "At least now I know more of what you want."

"But I don't want to do this too many more times." Morgan whimpered. "My feet hurt."

"I will rub your feet for an hour tonight." Sonny offered and suddenly Morgan lit up like a Christmas tree. "Can you handle two more today?"

Morgan nodded her head furiously and when the car came to a stop in front of a lovely two-storey brick house a mere ten minutes from Sonny's mother's house, Morgan narrowed her eyes in on the place.

From the outside it looked like a great place to live. The driveway was large enough for two vehicles and it even had a garage. The front door had a small porch surrounded by wooden railings and a roof overtop. Well that would certainly be nice to sit out under in the warmer weather, plus the front yard was an immaculate sheet of grass.

"This place looks promising." Morgan nodded firmly.

Sonny was quick to jump out of the car and jog around to her side, opening the door for her and helping her out of the backseat. She came to stand next to him and stared at the front of the house, taking in the sight of the big bay window between the garage door and the front porch. Oh she definitely liked that, a bay window was something she always thought she might like for herself one day.

"Shall we head inside?" Brett quipped and led the way, pausing at the front door to unlock the place and open it, letting the two of them wander in ahead of him. Morgan stepped in the front and took in the sight of the fairly open concept floorplan of the main floor. The living room was large, it had a brick fireplace in the centre of the one wall and large, picturesque windows that looked out into the backyard.

The kitchen had a lovely counter along three walls with a table set up in the middle of it, the floor tiled with sturdy stone flooring that led into the hardwood of the living room floor. Beyond the kitchen was a small hallway that led to a tiny little bathroom and a stairwell.

"We have an unfinished basement in this house but it boasts lots of room for those handyman dreams." Brett explained. "The laundry room is down there as well as a rough in for a bathroom."

Morgan gave a nod of her head and took in the lovely inside of the main floor. She liked it so far, it was nice, it _would_ be nice for their home. Hell, she wasn't going to admit it out loud, but she was actually sort of excited about the upstairs.

Wandering over to the sliding doors, she peered out at the backyard, which was just beyond a rather large deck that jutted out from the kitchen. There was enough room for a barbeque and an outdoor patio set, plus the backyard itself was _huge_. There was even a shed tucked away in the corner of the fenced in yard.

"Can you imagine our kids out there playing?" Morgan cooed, lifting her hand up and pressing it against the cool glass of the sliding doors. "Sonny, it's so nice."

"I like it so far." Sonny agreed and shot a look in Brett's direction. The realtor motioned for them to follow him and Sonny had to gingerly tug on Morgan's arm to get her to look away from the backyard. When she relented and followed him, she let out a soft sigh and prayed that the second storey was as nice as the main floor.

She was _not_ disappointed. There were two fairly large bedrooms across from one another but Brett announced they were _not_ the master bedroom. Did that mean the master bedroom was even bigger than these rooms? God, these rooms were bigger than the bedroom she shared with Sonny in the apartment.

When they meandered down the hallway further, Brett pointed out the main bathroom, which was lovely, and Morgan nodded her approval.

It was when they walked into the master bedroom that her eyes widened in sheer joy. There was a sliding door against one wall with a small balcony that overlooked the backyard, the glass doors letting in all kinds of sunlight.

The bedroom itself was huge, bigger than the previous two bedrooms for sure. There was even an en suite bathroom that Morgan loved upon first look. Okay, this house was worth the wait, it was everything she wanted, and then some. When she looked at Sonny, he was studying her carefully, trying to read her.

"There's not really a room for an office." Sonny pointed out and Morgan huffed at him.

"I don't need an office. And if you need one so badly, you can build it in the damn basement for all I care." She retorted. "Or you can just put a desk over in the corner because this bedroom is so big, it wouldn't even make a difference."

He tipped his head to the side and took her words to heart, considering the options that she had given him. Did he really _need_ a home office?

At this point in his career, he generally tended to do most of his work in his office at work, even if that meant staying late. He didn't bring a lot of work home, so maybe a desk in the bedroom would suffice, or maybe he didn't need a desk that much at all. Maybe they could just throw one somewhere in the living room. Or, like Morgan had stated, he could always put an office in the basement if he wanted one bad enough.

"What do you think?" Brett questioned and Morgan practically jumped up in excitement.

"Sonny please?" Morgan begged and he looked at her for a split second before knowing that this place felt more like their home than the previous three did. It was a nice house, the location was great, the place itself was fairly new and clean and it had almost everything they wanted, except for the office Sonny still wasn't a hundred percent sure of.

"I think this is our house doll." Sonny countered.

"Really?" She smiled at him, her eyes watering up with what he hoped were tears of joy.

"Why not?" Sonny shrugged and looked over at Brett. "What do we have to do next?"

Morgan wandered around the bedroom, taking in each and every detail and planning out what she wanted for them in this very room. She gave a quick swipe at her eyes and managed to hold back the tears threatening to fall. She had so many ideas, so many thoughts, that she was starting to feel overwhelmed by it all. A house was a lot of work, and they'd have to move all their stuff from the apartment into it. oh god, she remembered the complications from the last moving day and fought off the urge to groan.

No, no she couldn't think like that, it would be fine, everything would be okay. They needed a bigger place for their family, so staying in the apartment wasn't an option, and this place was the best place she could imagine. It was perfect for what she wanted and she wanted it, she wanted it bad.

She looked out into the backyard and smiled wider. Yes, this was their house, this was where they were going to raise their family. This was going to belong to her and Sonny, just as soon as they could get their hands on it.

Sonny came up behind her and hugged her, peering out the same glass doors that she was. He pressed a kiss against the back of her head and felt her relax in his hold.

"This _is_ a really nice place." Sonny whispered and she leaned back in his hold, letting her eyes fall shut as she took it all in. "It feels like a home to me."

Letting out a hum of contentment, Morgan merely left her eyes shut and tried to picture their child running around in the backyard. She could do it easily, and the two bedrooms at the top of the stairs would be great kids' rooms. She couldn't wait to get her hands on this place, she wanted to set up a nursery in one of the rooms, but that would happen once she found out the gender of her baby.

Yes, this was their house.

"You did good Sonny Bunny." She murmured and brought her hands up, resting them on top of his. "Sorry I was so bitchy earlier."

"Well I know you well enough to know that patience isn't one of your strong suits." He teased, his chin resting on the top of her head. "I'm glad you like this place so much."

Letting out another low hum, she opened her eyes and turned them both around to get another look at the bedroom that would hopefully belong to them soon. She loved the room, it was large, spacious, had enough room for a king-sized bed easily, plus the bathroom was a good size too, it had a combination bathtub/shower, which was fine by Morgan.

"I want to move in now." Morgan giggled.

"We have to see if they take our offer first." Sonny chuckled back.

"Ugh!"

"Be patient Mo, this is our house."

"And if there's other people after it, I'll just arrest them. I'm a cop, I can totally do that." She scoffed, clearly joking about her abilities.

"Don't stress Mo." He nuzzled his nose into her hair and she let out a soft breath. "Let me take care of this okay?"

Letting out a long breath, she settled into his hold and tried to let go of all the overwhelming feelings she was getting. This was going to be their home, it had to be, it was too perfect for them.

She just prayed that Sonny knew what he was doing because she wanted this place and she wanted it with him, _so_ bad.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley was sort of nervous about meeting Morgan at the address that she had texted her. She didn't know what it was for but when she pulled up outside of a two-storey brick house, she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and shook her head.

What the hell was Morgan getting at? And why did she want to meet her here?

She waited in the car though as she had gotten their early, and she wasn't about to walk up to the front door of a random house without her friend by her side. She pulled out her phone and forwarded the address to Peter with a message that read 'just in case'. When he texted back with nothing more than a question mark, she considered calling him to explain but merely stated that she was meeting with Morgan.

That turned his attention away from the address. He sent her all the support she needed in the form of a thumb's up emoji followed by a ' _call me after if you want_ '. She already wanted to call him but before she could seriously consider it, Morgan pulled up in Sonny's truck. Morgan climbed out first and Riley followed her actions, grabbing her purse and exiting her car.

She tucked her phone into the front pocket on her jeans and met Morgan at the walkway leading to the front door. Morgan immediately went in for a hug and Riley acquiesce, basking in the embrace that Morgan provided.

"Is this like a murder house or something?" Riley asked as the two of them separated, Morgan leading her to the front door.

"No." Morgan laughed and produced her own set of keys, fishing around on the ring for a specific one. When she located it, she popped it into the lock and twisted it, the door popping open as she pushed on the handle. "This is the Carisi residence."

Riley's eyes widened at Morgan's admission but her lips turned upwards into a smile, loving the idea of her friend finally have a house of her own. It wasn't all that far from their house, a little over fifteen minutes, which was nice for the two of them.

Morgan ushered Riley inside and shut the door behind them, leading Riley over to the only piece of furniture in the house, a leather looking couch in a deep chocolate brown that faced an elaborate brick fireplace. Morgan sat down first but Riley was too occupied looking around the first floor, even venturing far enough that she spotted the bathroom and the stairs.

"I'm going upstairs." Riley announced and Morgan was quick to her feet, rushing after her friend and meeting her at the top of the stairs where Riley had come to a stop.

She was looking in each of the bedrooms there, giving Morgan an approving nod before heading further down the hall, peering into the bathroom and then finally the master bedroom. Her eyes immediately fell on the balcony and she let out a squeal of excitement for her friend.

"We used Peter's guy." Morgan stated and Riley turned on her heels, leveling her with a playful glare.

"You didn't tell me you were looking at houses!" She accused but Morgan threw her hands up in surrender. "Mo, this is awesome! I love this place."

"I know right!" Morgan shrieked out of pure excitement. "Sonny and I figured we needed more room for when the baby comes and a house is a great place to raise a family."

Riley winced at her words but Morgan was too excited to notice. Fighting through the thought of having her own home without any kids to fill it, Riley wandered towards the door to the bathroom and peered inside, approving greatly of this place. It fit with Morgan and it would be a wonderful home for her and Sonny, as well as however many kids they ended up with.

"This is a really great place." Riley commented. "I was scared when I pulled into the driveway because I had no idea why you wanted to meet me here but I get it now. You got yourself a perfect home here Mo."

Beaming at her friend, Morgan wandered along behind her as she moved around the room, taking in the master bedroom. It didn't even really need new paint if Morgan didn't want to, which was definitely a plus, but she figured the two bedrooms near the top of the stairs would be painted, one would for sure because she'd turn it into a nursery and the current colour of beige was bland and boring, especially for a child.

"I actually have a question for you." Morgan prodded and Riley paused in her wandering to look back at Morgan, motioning with her hand for her to go on. "Okay, so I haven't talked to Sonny about this yet but I figured I should ask you first. We've picked out a name for the baby it's a boy, but we haven't gotten anywhere on a girl's name."

"You're going to tell me what this boy's name is, right?" Riley countered with a smirk.

"Michael Anthony." Morgan answered with a smile of her own.

"Oh that's cute!" She gushed.

"Right." Morgan paused and sucked in a big breath before letting it out. "For a girl though, I was hoping you'd be okay with me using Audrey as a middle name."

Riley's eyes bugged at the idea and she cocked her head sideways. Was she okay with Morgan using that as her child's middle name? She hadn't really thought about using it for her own child, if she ever managed to have one of her own, but did that mean she wanted Morgan giving her child her mother's name?

Worst case, she could also give her child Audrey as a middle name, but honestly, that hadn't even crossed Riley's mind. Slowly but surely, she nodded her head yes.

"I think that'd be okay with me." Riley said softly.

"Are you sure?"

Hesitating, she considered Morgan's question for a few more seconds. Yes, yes she was sure. Audrey was a great idea for a middle name, and Riley's mom would be honoured. Fighting off the urge to giggle at the reaction that Morgan's own mother would have, Riley bit the inside of her cheek and successfully held her laugh to an awkward snort.

"Ideas for the first name though?" Riley pressed, trying to get away from Audrey.

"Ry, are you sure you're okay with that? I don't even know if we're going to use it because Sonny has no idea, but I though I should ask you first-"

"It's fine." Riley nodded, and surprisingly, she was quite alright with Morgan's request. "Back to the first name thing? You got one?"

"No." Morgan shook her head, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I asked Sonny to list Italian names but they all sounded so…well they all sound like my future kids should run a mob or something."

Riley threw her head back and let out a loud bout of laughter. Hell even Sonny sounded like a mobster name but she hadn't really thought much about it until now. Morgan huffed at her friend's reaction and placed her hands on her hips. Morgan did _not_ want her kids to have mafia style names, but she also hadn't gotten very far in the name book that Riley's mom had sent her.

"All I think of when you say Italian names are like Evangelina or Isabella, oh, that's sort of taken right, Sonny's sister?" Riley shot Morgan a look and Morgan rolled her eyes. Yes, Isabella was too close to Bella. "Okay so Evangelina."

"I don't think that's Italian."

"Sounds it to me." Riley shrugged and headed for the bedroom door, Morgan following along behind her. "You could call her Eva for short."

Morgan stopped dead in her tracks and when Riley no longer heard her friend's footsteps, she paused near the top of the stairs and turned to face Morgan, who's eyes were as wide as saucers. Leaning against the wall, Riley crossed her arms over her chest and watched Morgan, waiting for her to break free of her trance.

"Eva." Morgan whispered and Riley groaned. "No Ry, I like that, not Evangelina, just plain old Eva."

"Eva Audrey." Riley stated and Morgan broke out into a grin.

"Jesus I hope Sonny likes it…are you sure that's not too weird?"

"No, it'd be hilarious actually. Your mom would have a shit fit." Riley pointed out with a laugh and carried on, practically skipping down the stairs.

Morgan remained in the hallway, not moving just yet. Riley had a point, Jesus, why hadn't she thought of that before? She wanted to honour Audrey, the woman who had been like a mother to her, but she hadn't considered her actual mother in the equation. Fuck, how _would_ Charlotte take that?

Okay, she was second guessing the middle name of Audrey now. She filed it away though because she needed to talk to Sonny about it before they made any solid decisions anyways. Shaking her head, Morgan forced herself to focus on the here and now. She was in her house with her friend, who had wanted to meet up with her for a reason.

Taking the stairs one at a time, Morgan managed to get herself to the main floor without incident and found Riley casually lounging on the couch in the middle of the room. She was quick to join her and shot her a smile as she sat down next to her.

"I'm giving my kid the middle name of Charlie, not Charlotte, Charlie." Riley laughed. "Jesus Mo, you're too entertaining."

"Oh my god." Morgan growled. "I didn't even think…good lord."

Riley let out a snort of amusement and crossed her arms over her chest, loving how easily Morgan had forgotten about her actual mother and all the things she had done for her as a child albeit not that much when she thought back on it. Morgan reached over and slapped Riley on the shoulder, effectively silencing her.

The two of them sat there in an awkward silence for a good five minutes before Morgan let out a sigh, breaking it. Riley turned her upper body sideways and face Morgan, letting her arms fall away from her chest, her palms resting on her thighs instead.

"I probably won't name my kid Charlie." Riley shook her head solemnly and Morgan studied Riley carefully.

"I mean you can, it's cute, it's probably not a good idea to give a kid a name out of spite."

"That's not…I didn't mean…look Mo, there's something I have to tell you." Riley breathed out the last few words, her voice so soft that Morgan barely heard her. Oh no, this wasn't good, the last time she had seen Riley like this, it hadn't been good, in fact, it easily could've been when Riley admitted that she was having a hard time with anxiety and she didn't know what to do.

Conversations following 'there's something I have to tell you' were rarely good. Morgan straightened up on the couch and mentally prepared herself for whatever Riley was going to say. She wanted it to be good but she figured, especially by the way Riley's shoulders slumped, that it was more than likely bad.

"Ry, what?" Morgan pressed and Riley lifted a hand up, pressing her palm against the centre of her chest. "Ry, I'm right here okay, whatever you have to tell me, it'll be fine."

Sucking in a jagged breath, Riley felt her eyes filling up with tears but she didn't want them to spill. She just wanted to get this off her chest, she wanted Morgan to know, but it was proving to be harder to get the words out than she originally thought.

"Okay so remember how I said Peter didn't want kids right now because he wanted to focus on his career?"

"Oh my god, is he breaking up with you?"

Riley's head jerked and she glared at Morgan, "what no!"

"Oh." Morgan leaned back ever so slightly but kept her eyes on Riley.

"Well I lied about that. He wants kids, in fact, we've been trying for a while now."

"That's great!" Morgan beamed but when Riley didn't smile back at her, she scrunched her nose up in confusion. "Ry, what…what's going on?"

"Around the time you got engaged, we stopped using protection. Nothing happened." Riley paused and took a second to compose herself, running an anxious hand through her hair before pressing her palm against her thigh, moving it back and forth over the denim material of her jeans. "After we moved into the house, we tried artificial insemination."

"What?" Morgan continued to stare at her friend, not entirely sure what she was trying to say. "Like a sperm donor?"

"Well Peter was my sperm donor but sure. Actually, we tried that twice and still nothing." Riley confessed. "He was really good about the whole thing because honestly, it was kind of awkward."

"And it didn't work?" Morgan quipped, Riley shaking her head no. "Okay, so…so what are you saying Ry?"

"I can't have kids." Riley managed to get the words out but as soon as they were out there, she began to cry, tears streaking down her cheeks. "I've known for a while."

"How long?" Morgan asked and reached a hand across, offering it to Riley, who took it without hesitation. "How long have you known?"

Riley didn't answer right away because she was scared to. She had known for years, which meant she had ample opportunities to tell Morgan the truth instead of hiding it from her. She hated herself for it, but she was embarrassed, ashamed by it. It wasn't until Peter had come along that she had started to feel okay with the fact that she couldn't have kids.

"College."

Morgan tensed but she didn't pull her hand away, "wow Ry."

Riley winced but Morgan merely gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Peter and I even tried in vitro but it didn't work. The thing that really bothers me is that I don't have a definitive answer as to why." Riley whimpered. "Sorry."

Morgan cocked her head sideways, "what do you have to be sorry for?"

"Not telling you." Riley remarked.

Shaking her head, Morgan ran her fingers over Riley's knuckles in a soothing manner, trying to provide her friend with any bit of comfort that she could. She hated that Riley couldn't have kids, she hated even more that she hadn't shared that secret with her. Morgan could've been there for her, she could've been a person she could've talked to about it, or a person that could've tried to help her.

"It sucks that you didn't tell me but you don't have to be sorry." Morgan said softly. "It was your secret to tell, I just…I don't know Ry, I wish you felt comfortable enough to tell me earlier but I'm not mad."

Without saying a word, Riley nodded her head, knowing that every word Morgan said was genuine. She hated that she hadn't told her until now, but honestly, she hadn't felt very confident, she hadn't wanted to put it out there for anyone to know, except her mother, and more recently Peter, but even her telling him hadn't been planned.

"So kids in my future are not looking very likely." Riley admitted. "Not for lack of trying."

"What about surrogacy?" Morgan questioned.

"I don't think my eggs are very good."

"Adoption? There's lot of kids out there who need parents, what about them?"

Riley pressed her lips together, "yeah I don't know Mo, things are sort of in limbo right now. I'm trying to focus on my wedding and not on the fact that after all this time I'm not pregnant, nor have I ever been pregnant."

Morgan gave her an encouraging nod of her head, "that's a good idea."

Leaning in, Morgan immediately enveloped Riley into a hug and simply held her as she cried more and more tears. God she wished she had known, there were so many times where she had made comments about having kids that she regretted now, but it wasn't like Riley had told her. It didn't matter, it was in the past and she couldn't change it, all she could do was comfort Riley and help her move forward.

"I should've told you sooner." Riley winced but Morgan didn't let go of her.

"No, no it's okay."

"I just…I tried, so many times, but it didn't feel like the right time, then you said you were pregnant and I didn't want to take anything away from you."

"Ry, it's all good." Morgan soothed, running her hands up and down Riley's back, simply holding her in an attempt to comfort her. "You just told me and that's good enough for me."

"Yeah." Riley sighed and reluctantly pulled away from Morgan, but Morgan kept hold of her hand. "I love you Mo, you're my best friend."

Morgan smiled at her, "you're my best friend too, so much so that I might have to use Riley as a middle name instead of Audrey."

Riley blinked at her pal but after a few seconds, she let out a single bark of laughter. What else could she do?

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Morgan wandered into her apartment after spending another hour talking to Riley while sitting on the couch in their new house. She was floored by the fact that Riley had kept something like that a secret since college but Morgan wasn't mad about it, no, if anything, she was perplexed, and maybe even a little confused. Was it really that easy to keep from Morgan? Would there not have been some sort of a sign here or there that she had simply missed?

Had she given Riley the idea that she wouldn't have supported her or was it as simple as the explanations that Riley had offered? Honestly Morgan couldn't imagine harbouring something like that but then again, Riley wasn't her and it was apparent that she was really good at keeping secrets, except, of course, from Peter Stone.

Sonny was quick to meet Morgan at the apartment door and pull her out of her thoughts with a hug and quick kiss on the lips, immediately sensing that there was something on Morgan's mind. He left her there without daring to push and prod before he went back to the stove, working away on the dinner he had been planning since she had walked out of the house with the promise of showing their new place to her best friend.

"Did Riley like our new place?" Sonny asked, trying to start off easy before pressing Morgan for answers to whatever seemed to be bothering her. She'd tell him in time, hopefully, but even if she didn't, maybe it wasn't about him and Morgan, maybe it was about Riley.

"Yeah, she loved it." Morgan replied quickly and flipped her shoes off before meandering into the kitchen, finding herself a lovely spot against the counter to lean on. She brought her arms up and crossed them over her chest. "She was shocked because we hadn't mentioned wanting to get a bigger place, let alone a house, so imagine how surprised she was when I told her that we had already bought the place."

"I bet." Sonny chuckled and paused in his slicing of the vegetables for whatever it was he was making. Morgan wasn't feeling all that focused and she didn't really care what they had for dinner so long as she didn't have to cook it, especially after the emotional roller coaster she had just been on. "But she's happy for you? For us?"

"Oh yes." Morgan threw him a quick smile and she tried to figure out if she should tell Sonny what Riley had told her. She felt like she needed someone to talk to about it but she didn't know if Riley would appreciate her talking to Sonny. If she had been in Riley's position, she wouldn't have wanted anymore people to know than she had already told, then again, Morgan felt the urge to discuss what she knew. Hell, it was very possible that maybe Riley didn't want anyone to know ever but surely Sonny would eventually find out, right?

He was part of their group of friends, he was close to Peter, if he didn't know soon, he'd find out eventually right? Even if 'eventually' was a good five years down the road and Riley still didn't have kids of her own, surely Sonny would be able to put two and two together?

Sonny stopped completely in what he was doing and turned to look at her, giving her a once over before locking his eyes on her face. She was lost in thought and he wondered where her head was at?

"Mo, you good?" He pressed but her response came in the form of a loud sigh. "Mo, you can talk to me here, that's what husbands are for you know?"

"Riley laid some heavy shit on me today."

"Oh?"

"And I'm just…I'm trying to process it, you know?" Morgan continued. "She uh, well, I guess I'm going to tell you but you have to promise not to tell anyone else, okay? It's pretty big news and it took a lot for her to tell even me, so you can't just go blabbing to anyone."

Sonny lifted his right hand up and made a crossing motion over his heart, "I swear."

"She can't have kids." Morgan blurted the words out and Sonny stared at her, not entirely reacting the way she was expecting him too.

In all fairness, Riley was her best friend and Sonny was just a friend, maybe he didn't feel as emotionally invested in her life as Morgan did. Surely this news was big though, and it warranted more of a reaction than him just staring at her, didn't it? Morgan turned to face him directly and she cocked her head sideways, waiting for it to sink in, yeah, that was it, it just hadn't sunk in yet. Maybe he just needed a few seconds to process what she was really, truly saying.

"She told you that?"

"Yes." Morgan hissed and threw her hands up into the air, frustrated at his total lack of reaction. What was wrong with him? Unless…was there some way that he knew already? Was he aware of her best friend's inability to have children before she was? Did he _know_? "Did she tell _you_?"

Sonny inhaled deeply and turned his attention to the half-chopped veggies, staring at them for a good twenty seconds before looking back to Morgan, whose eyes were narrowed and accusing. He raised his hands in surrender and sighed, knowing that he had to give her the real reason why he knew about Riley before she did.

"No, Stone did." Sonny confessed. "He needed someone to talk to-"

"About what?" Morgan broke in, her eyes narrowing to slits.

"His sperm, shit." Sonny groaned, wondering how far Morgan would push it. The whole conversation between him and Peter had been awkward at best and he wasn't all that excited to have to think back on it. "He and Riley were going to try some more _clinical_ methods and he needed to talk to someone about his reservations about handing over his sperm at the time. I was his sounding board, it's not like I asked for him to tell me, in fact, it was weird."

Morgan merely looked at him, not entirely sure how she felt. On one hand, it was nice that Peter had a friend in Sonny, a good enough friend that he could confide in him and talk about things that apparently even Morgan hadn't known about at the time. On the other hand, she didn't like that he knew something about Riley before she did, no matter where he found it out from. Riley was her friend, her best friend, and yet somehow Sonny knew before she did- that wasn't right, not in her mind.

Then there was the fact that Riley had told Peter about it before her too, and maybe Morgan would give her that one, opinions on kids were pretty important in a relationship but it still hurt. She had thought her and Riley were like sisters, and yeah, she got that it was something Riley didn't exactly want to talk about but it felt like she was the last person to know, which, apparently, she was, at least when it came to their group.

"So she's really been trying." Morgan murmured, more to herself than him. She sucked in a breath and wondered how hard this really was for Riley, especially when it had come so easily for her.

Her and Sonny had decided to try and get pregnant on their honeymoon and low and behold, it had pretty much worked. Meanwhile Riley had been trying since her and Sonny had gotten engaged, and that was quite a while ago. Her poor friend had been trying and not succeeding in getting pregnant for months and yet, on their first try, Morgan and Sonny had managed to do what she couldn't.

"You think she'd lie to you about that?" Sonny looked at her. "You want proof? Stone's been off more than one afternoon to go with her to try all that clinical stuff. You can ask him how uncomfortable the idea of handing over his sperm was-"

"No I don't need proof." Morgan scoffed. "I just, I don't know, I guess I didn't want to believe it."

"Well believe it." Sonny offered up and went back to cutting up vegetables. Morgan pushed herself away from the counter and paced the kitchen, trying to figure out what she was really thinking.

She honestly _had_ believed everything Riley had said but hearing someone else confirm it all really drove it home. Riley _really_ couldn't have kids, it wasn't happening for her, it hadn't happened in all the time she had been trying, so what did that honestly mean for her best friend?

Stopping in her tracks, Morgan threw her hands up into the air and let out a growl, frustrated at the whole world. Riley deserved to be a mother, she'd be a great one, and yet the universe wasn't allowing that to happen. What had the poor girl done to deserve such a punishment?

"I could give her our baby." Morgan said but she wasn't actually being serious. Sonny laughed at her and shook his head, not bothering to dignify her comment with a response. "Oh hey, we could get her a puppy."

"Not the same as a baby." Sonny pointed out.

Morgan let out a sigh, "I know."

A blanket of silence fell over them and Morgan moved back to her place against the cupboards, except this time she hauled herself up and sat on the countertop, her fingers hooked on the edge of the counter as she swung her legs out in front of her. Sonny set his knife down and moved to stand between her legs, resting his hands on her hips and leaning forward, kissing her softly on the lips.

"Don't worry so much about Riley, she's strong, she'll be fine." Sonny murmured.

"I can't just _not_ worry about her. I've been worrying about her for years, I can't just stop because you say so." Morgan argued. "She's my best friend Sonny."

"Then have faith that she'll be fine." Sonny remarked. "She's got Stone now, he'll take care of her."

Morgan grumbled and moved her palms up to rest on his shoulders, "why do you have to be so logical?"

Smirking at her, he kissed her on the lips once again and made a move to pull away, but she hooked her hands together at the back of his neck and held him in front of her. He held her gaze and she smiled softly at him, thanking the heavens above that she had him in her life. He was great for her, he was supportive, smart, logical and he genuinely loved her.

This was the guy for her, and she was so happy that they were going to have a family of their own soon.

"I was thinking about girl names." Morgan said, changing the subject as Sonny's hands moved back and forth on her hips. "Eva Audrey."

Sonny gave a nod of his head as he tossed the name around in his head. It sounded great, elegant and classy yet not too snooty, not like Charlotte. It even had a bit of an Italian sound to it without being the name of a female mobster. Yes, Sonny liked that name.

"Not Eva Charlotte." He teased, Morgan immediately throwing her head back with a groan. "What?"

"Riley joked about that too. I feel bad, sort of, because- well honestly, if you were my mom, wouldn't you be a little insulted that I named my kid after someone else's mom?" Morgan posed.

"You really care what your mother would think?" He countered.

She thought about it for a few seconds and shrugged her shoulders, "it's not that I care about what she'd think, it's more that I don't want to cause shit with my family."

He scoffed at her and shook his head, "screw 'em, if that's what you want then we'll do it, I'll take the blame, I don't care."

She hesitated but found that her lips were curling up into a smile. Oh yes, this was the Sonny she liked, the Sonny that took charge and was confident in his words. She loved him, she loved everything about it, but _this_ Sonny was her favourite.

He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers, feeling her fingers playing with the hair at the back of his neck. If that was what Morgan wanted, then that's what they'd do. It didn't matter to him if his mother liked it or not, he'd fight that battle for her, and he knew Riley would certainly be a part of his army. Eva Audrey had a nicer ring to it than Eva Charlotte anyways.

"Eva Audrey for a girl then." Morgan smiled.

"And Michael Anthony for a boy."

"Oooh I'm so excited. I can't wait to find out what we're having." Morgan whispered.

"Soon doll."

Soon couldn't happen _soon_ enough.


	27. Chapter 27

Everything was suddenly a _lot_ more real and Sonny wasn't entirely sure how to handle it. Yeah he knew that they were having a baby, but being here, sitting next to Morgan as they prepared for the ultrasound, just solidified everything in a way he hadn't been expecting. He had to keep himself together though, not when Morgan had already freaked out enough for the both of them that day, apparently her excitement had come out as anxiety today of all days, but Sonny couldn't blame her.

All he could do was be with her in the here and now, supporting her the best way he knew how. He gently set his palm on her bicep, watching the nurse set Morgan up on the examination table, and he found himself unsure if the pounding in his chest was more because he was excited to finally be a part of everything or if he was scared out of his skull of becoming a father.

Sounds around him were unclear, muffled almost, and he could feel his heart drumming against his chest, but Sonny knew that he had to stay calm, at least on the outside, because Morgan needed him to. He was supposed to be the calm one, the one who had originally suggested having a baby; if he freaked out now, surely Morgan would find herself uneasy about having a child with a man who was terrified of looking after a tiny little baby.

Suddenly Sonny felt like everything was happening too fast: the house that they weren't moved into, the nursery that needed to be painted and furnished, hell they barely had a plan for when the baby would finally come to meet them.

No matter what happened though, he knew that Morgan was the most important person to him, Morgan and now, of course, the baby.

"Hey?" Morgan's voice pierced his skull and he gave a slight shake of his head, trying to focus his thoughts and attention on what was going on in front of him. The house could be sorted later, right now he was going to get to see his baby and hear the heartbeat. "You okay?"

"I should be the one asking you that." He countered and scooted the chair next to the table closer to her, moving his hand down her arm to take hold of her hand, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah but you're the one who looks like he's going to throw up, not me." She teased and he forced an uneasy smile onto his face. "Seriously Sonny, you good?"

Morgan sucked in a breath as the nurse wandered upwards, pulling a blanket over her bottom half but stopping it just below her belly button. Morgan wiggled her fingers and reluctantly pulled her hand away from Sonny's, gathering her shirt up in her hands and forcing it upwards so that her abdomen was free and clear for the woman to do her work.

"I uh, yeah, I think so." He nodded and held his breath, trying to force the nerves away. He still didn't know what to think. On one hand, he was glad that he was here with Morgan, but on the other hand, no, no there was no _other_ hand. He was Morgan's husband, the father to her baby and he wanted to be here. He was just nervous.

"Is this the father?" The nurse questioned softly. Morgan was grateful that this woman seemed nice and even a little bit comforting. She needed it on a day like today where they would find out what they were having. No, well, sort of- god, she wanted to know so badly but Sonny's family had mentioned a gender reveal party and Morgan had been on board for having one of those.

They'd get the gender but it would be kept a secret until the party, which meant more waiting for Morgan and Sonny.

"Yes, this is the father." Morgan answered quickly and shot a glance over towards Sonny, who tipped his head sideways at the question. Were there a lot of people who didn't bring the fathers? So much so that the nurses had to ask about them? "He's my baby daddy, the absolute love of my life, one man that means the world to me."

He couldn't contain the chuckle and let it out, taking note that she was obviously just as nervous as he was, as was evident by her joking manner. She was uneasy about finding out the gender, but was that because she wanted one over the other, or just because she was excited and happy with whatever they found out today?

"You two married?" The nurse pressed with a genuine smile and Morgan looked down at her hands, wiggling her finger with the rings on it.

"We sure are." Morgan nodded her head. "He's catholic so a bastard child would be a sin."

"Mo." Sonny scolded and the nurse let out a chuckle.

"I have to say, you two are one of the most adorable couples I've seen come through here."

"Adorable?" Sonny narrowed his eyes in on the woman. He wasn't adorable, he didn't want to _be_ adorable.

"Thanks." Morgan forced the word out and shot a glare in Sonny's direction. She knew that he was getting a little up in arms about being called adorable (a lot of men would), but there was no reason for him to cause a scene, especially not when it was blatantly obvious that Morgan was pregnant and very likely to go into a mood swing if he said the wrong thing. "We've only been married for a short while and we're already having a baby together, I'm so excited, I just can't contain how happy I am."

"We're pretty sure it's a honeymoon baby." Sonny threw out with a chuckle.

"Oh nice, that's exciting!"

"Right! It's certainly a good wedding present in my eyes." Morgan teased and laughed as the woman smiled at her. Sonny shook his head at how much fun she seemed to be having, well, okay, if this is what it took for her to calm down and relax, then he'd let her go for it.

"So you planned this baby then?" The nurse questioned, clearly knowing the answer but asking to make conversation.

"Sort of." Morgan gave a little nod. "No, yes, yes we planned to get pregnant."

"Seems like the stars aligned for us because it happened so quickly." Sonny teased.

Morgan opened her mouth to respond to him but she found that she didn't really know what more she could say. He had a point, when Sonny had suggested not using protection, Morgan hadn't really thought it would happen so fast, but it had and she couldn't have been happier.

Her mind flitted to Riley for a split second, feeling saddened by the fact that she was having trouble getting pregnant. It wasn't Morgan's fault and even though she was saddened by that fact, she definitely didn't feel guilty.

"You ready for this…sorry honey, I didn't catch your name." The nurse carried on and Morgan cocked her head sideways.

"Morgan." She answered and looked from the woman to Sonny, who had his eyes glued on the nurse, watching as she closed in on Morgan.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" He piped up and sat up straighter on the chair.

"Of course you can." The nurse smiled back at him politely.

"Should we…I mean, is it okay for us to still have sex?"

The nurse let out a low snicker and shook her head in amusement. Morgan forced a smile onto her face and rolled her eyes at him. Was that really his question, was he honestly asking the woman doing the ultrasound if it was okay for them to still be having sex?

Hell, even she knew the answer to that and honestly, she had been expecting him to be quiet for the majority of this entire ordeal, not for him to ask questions about sex.

"Yes, sex is perfectly acceptable to indulge in while pregnant." The nurse nodded and set to work, pausing momentarily to meet Sonny's eyes, a teasing grin on her face. "Only if the mother wants it though, sometimes it's not always comfortable."

Sonny nodded his understanding and watched in curiosity as the nurse moved over onto the other side of Morgan, while remaining firmly on a stool. She squeezed some sort of clear gel out of tube onto her skin and then proceeded to spread it around with the rounded device that she held in her hand.

"You know how far along you are?" The nurse asked and Morgan gave a slow but firm nod of her head. "And do you know what you're having?"

"Just over sixteen weeks, and no, we don't know what we're having. We want to know but not at this moment, we're planning a gender reveal party." Morgan answered with an excited tone but kept her eyes on the screen of the machine, which was now full of the same sort of black and white swirls as she had seen during her first ultrasound at the very beginning of her pregnancy.

She felt Sonny's fingers brush against her arm and when she peered over to get a look at him, she stared at his eyes, watching him as he became entranced by the muffled sounds echoing into the room.

The nurse took significant time locating the baby but a few minutes in and suddenly, without any sort of warning, or any time to panic, the baby's heartbeat sounded out in the room.

"There's your baby." The nurse said softly and Morgan let go of her shirt with just one of her hands before reaching across her chest and resting her palm against the back of Sonny's hand. He tore his eyes off the screen long enough to meet her gaze, which is when she noticed the shine to his eyes.

"You sure you're okay?" Morgan asked in a whisper and leaned her head in his direction. "You can cry if you want to, it's pretty amazing if you think about and I won't tell a soul, except Riley, so- yeah, everyone would probably know by the end of the day but still, you can cry if you want to."

"No." He winced. "I'm good, not going to cry at all."

"Well I might." She teased and took in a deep breath. "Sonny that's it, you see our baby, right?"

"I, uh, yeah."

The nurse lifted her hand up, pinky finger extended, and traced the outer limits of the baby on the screen just to make sure Sonny knew where he was supposed to look and what he was supposed to be seeing.

"I can tell what it is, so I'll put a note in the file and on your way out, you can stop by the front desk and grab the envelope containing the baby's gender." The nurse supplied, Morgan letting out the breath she had taken in seconds earlier. "Congratulations you two, everything, as far as I can tell, seems to be fine."

"Can we…can we get a picture, of our baby?" Morgan quipped and found her voice cracking from the emotions.

"Of course you can." The nurse smiled and went right to work on providing Morgan with exactly what she had asked for.

Morgan ducked her eyes down and took in the sight of her abdomen, studying it carefully and trying to decide if she felt like she looked big enough to be housing a baby.

In all reality, she loved being pregnant, but she feared gaining too much weight. She didn't want to get fat, she didn't want to gain more than she was supposed to, she just wanted to stay as close to the expected size as possible, but she knew that wasn't necessarily going to happen, especially not with her cravings as out of control as they had been lately.

"Here you go."

Morgan reached out and took hold of the picture that the nurse offered her, then she waited for the woman to gently wipe off her skin before letting her shirt go. She turned towards Sonny and handed him the picture before turning to the side of the table to face him.

"Thank you." Morgan murmured.

"You're very welcome. I'll just give you two a few minutes and be back, how's that sound?"

"Yeah, thanks." Sonny nodded.

"Congratulations mom and dad." The nurse smiled and Sonny just nodded his head yet again.

The nurse disappeared quickly out the door leaving the two of them alone in the room, whereby Morgan dropped her feet down and stood up next to the table. Sonny leaned back in the chair and she immediately planted herself down on his lap, relaxing as his one arm curled around her waist and held her there.

"It feels so much more real now." Sonny remarked softly. "It's like I knew we were going to have a baby but now I have proof, I know it's real."

"I know how you feel." She countered and rested her one hand on the back of his neck. "Now we just have to wait a little longer for our party to find out if we're having a Michael or an Eva."

He shook his head at her in amusement but didn't dare move too much. She drummed her fingers against his skin and leaned in to him, cuddling into his hold.

"Either way, I couldn't be any more excited." He beamed at her

"Good." Morgan smiled back at him, letting out a soft sigh of relief. She had been terribly excited for her appointment but now that it was over, she was nothing short of relieved.

"Have I ever told you that I appreciate you so much Mo? I love you so much, you know that, right?"

"I do. I love you just as much Sonny Bunny."

"And thanks for having my baby."

"You're welcome." She pressed a sweet little kiss against his jaw. "It was especially fun to make this baby."

Sonny grinned at her, thinking the exact same thing.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

The house barely had any furniture in it, Sonny and Morgan had yet to actually move in, but there were enough chairs scattered around the living room, plus they had the couch, to accommodate enough people to have a gender reveal party here. Their apartment was way too small to host a party, plus it was the perfect opportunity to let their friends see their new place.

The one thing that they _had_ moved over from the apartment was their dining room table and chairs, which served as the snack table, the cake set up on a cake stand in the very centre of it, taunting Morgan every time she looked at it. There were decorations lining the walls, in both pink and blue, which Morgan had thrown up with Sonny's help and there were drinks in the fridge for the guests, a pot of coffee brewing for those that wanted it.

The cake on the table was covered in white icing with a blue and pink coloured question mark adorning the top of it, right in the centre; blue and pink alternating icing tufts surrounded the edges. The cake itself, which was hidden by the white icing, was either blue or pink, and once they cut into it, Morgan and Sonny would know what they were having, and so would all of their guests.

Not surprisingly, Audrey, Riley and Peter had arrived first, Audrey having driven to Riley's place the day before and spent the night there in order to be in New York in time for the party. Morgan had greeted them all with excited hugs, lingering in Audrey's embrace and whispering a low thank you for the name book and stuffed dog. Audrey merely patted her on the back, grinned widely and wandered over to the snacks, taking a finger sandwich and a napkin before taking a seat on the couch.

"Make sure you mark the chalkboard with what you think I'm having." Morgan called out towards Audrey and Riley snorted at the request. Right, in addition to the chairs and table, there was also a small chalkboard set up on a little table just before the hallway to the stairs. On it was a line drawn right down the middle with the word 'Boy' in blue chalk on one half and the word 'Girl' in pink chalk on the other. "What do you think it is Ry?"

Riley glanced at Peter quickly before she answered, "velociraptor."

"That's physically impossible." Peter remarked.

"Yeah but how wild would that be?" Riley's eyes widened at the mere thought of Morgan having a dinosaur. Indeed it would be wild.

Morgan stuck her tongue out at her friend and swatted her arm, "what _gender_ Ry? Because I can tell you with great certainly that it is, in fact, human, evidence by the fact that I've seen it at the ultrasound appointment."

"Does gender truly exist in this day and age?" Riley countered philosophically before whisking Peter towards the chalkboard, freeing Morgan up to greet her next guests, which were Bella and Sonny's mother.

More hugs were given, excited squeals erupted and before Morgan knew where he had even come from, Sonny was ushering his mother to the couch to sit with Audrey, heading over to the snacks to gather her up something to eat. Bella couldn't help but grin at Morgan, who grinned right back at her and waved her hand around at the room.

"Nice place." Bella remarked. "You and Sonny have good taste, I can't wait to see it when you're actually all settled in."

"Soon." With a giggle, Morgan stepped closer to Bella, "by the way don't forget to put your guess on the chalkboard, I'm really curious to see what everyone thinks."

Bella nodded her understanding and wandered over to the couch, sitting on the arm of it near her mother, apparently asking _her_ for her guess so she could mark it down too. Morgan ran a hand over her lower abdomen and blew out a sigh, hoping that she could get some sort of second wind soon.

She had been up fairly early to get the place ready for the party but her and Sonny had found themselves distracted by wandering through the house and sharing ideas out loud for what they wanted to do with the place and where they wanted to put the furniture they already had. Needless to say, by the time they had finished daydreaming about their home, and what it would potentially look like when they moved in, they had ended up rushing to get the party ready, and they had done so just in time.

A few more people trickled into the house, her mother first, followed by Amanda Rollins and Olivia Benson, Fin trailing along behind them and immediately heading for Sonny, who was leaning against the kitchen counter near the fridge, passing out beers to anyone who wanted one. He had a small group with him consisting of Peter, Riley and now Fin.

Good, at least he was entertaining people instead of just hanging out with one person.

Morgan directed everyone to the chalkboard when they arrived and before she knew it, there were a load of tick marks, pretty evenly matched for girl and boy. She couldn't help but be excited for this party; she wanted to find out what she was having so badly, she was surprised she had managed to wait this long.

Today was the day though, she would finally find out what she was having, and it wasn't going to be a velociraptor, much to Riley's dismay.

Riley came up behind her and set her arm across her back, offering her a glass of water. Morgan took it with a smile and leaned in against her friend, grateful that she was here with her to share in her excitement.

"Seriously Ry, boy or girl?" Morgan pressed and Riley let out a low hum.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I can see you with either. Me, I've always wanted a girl, but at this point, I wouldn't be picky."

"What did you mark on the chalkboard?" Morgan quipped.

"Boy." Riley answered. "But just because it was the first one I saw."

Morgan gave a nod of her head, "I can't believe your mom came all the way to New York for my gender reveal party."

"She came for your bridal shower, why wouldn't she be here for this." Riley pointed out. "She adores you, plus it's not like she drove across the country, it's like a three-hour drive."

"Still."

Riley scoffed at her but understood what she was trying to say. Audrey wasn't her actual mother, no matter how often she wished she was. The fact that she had shown up to the gender reveal party meant the world to her.

Another few guests trickled in, this time Sonny's remaining sisters trailed in after Rafael Barba, who greeted Morgan with a kiss on the cheek. She wasn't sure if he was going to be able to make it but here he was, with a smile on his face at the sight of her. Sonny came up behind her, she figured it was to make sure his sisters behaved but she didn't care either way.

"Please, check out the chalkboard over there and mark what you think I'm having." Morgan instructed and Gina and Theresa headed right over there, thankful that Morgan had given them a way out of an awkward greeting. Barba however, stayed right in front of her.

"Congratulations." He smirked.

"Thanks." Morgan smiled. "And thanks for coming."

"Anything for you." Barba replied politely. "But you know, I wouldn't miss the gender reveal for my brother husband's baby."

"Of course you wouldn't Rafi. Still, thanks for showing up."

"Some brother husband you are, couldn't even get Oreos when I asked." Sonny threw out with a scoff and headed back to the kitchen, taking Morgan's glass of water with him. He wound up right back where he had been standing before his sisters had arrived.

Morgan watched him go and gave her head a little shake at his words. Whatever, she liked Barba and he was nice to her, which was what really counted in the end. He could be sassy with Sonny all he wanted, in fact, it was rather entertaining.

"Right, anyways, it should be a fun party, we have drinks, food and games." Morgan threw out.

"Games?" Riley piped up from next to her. "You have games and you're just telling me this now? How do you expect me to win-"

"Oh my god, go talk to Sonny in the kitchen, he'll give you the sheets." Morgan cut her off and Riley took off for the man in question, leaving Morgan alone with Barba. He gave the girl a smile and followed after Riley, wanting to give his congratulations to Sonny in addition to Morgan, which happened to be in the form of a handshake.

She turned towards the kitchen and spotted Sonny handing Riley two sheets, which had pictures and text on both sides. One sheet contained a quiz on songs (on one side) and movies (on the other) that contained lyrics or movie lines; the game was to guess what the title of the song or movie was and, as a fun twist, it had to contain either the word pink or blue.

On the second sheet was a game where the player had to come up baby names that began with each letter of the alphabet. One side of the page was for girl names and the other side was for boy names. It was no surprise to Morgan that Riley was already starting in on the games, she was super competitive after all, it was how she wound up with Peter in the first place and look how well that had gone for her.

When Riley came back over, she held the sheets in one hand along with a small pencil, and a glass of vodka and orange juice in the other. She wiggled the sheets in her hand and stared at Morgan, who merely rolled her eyes at her friend, making a mental note that she was currently the only one ready to play her games.

"Games…pfft and you didn't tell me right away. Not cool Mo." Riley chuckled.

"I should tell Sonny to pass the sheets out." Morgan stated but Riley shook her head no. Apparently she was willing to schmooze for an extra bit of time, a head start if you will. "Ry, it's just a silly party game."

"Yeah and I want to win, are there prizes? Do I win something?" Riley shot back at her.

"Uh, no…" Morgan answered slowly.

"Huh, so just bragging rights, well that doesn't change anything. I'm going to obliterate everyone else." Riley growled out the last word and turned on her heels, leaving Morgan standing there by herself as Riley headed over to the couch, plopping herself down on the floor next to her mother and going right to work on the sheets.

Morgan moved quickly to Sonny and stood in front of him.

"Congrats on the baby." Fin said simply and Morgan smiled at him.

"Thanks. You guys know there are games, right?" Morgan asked, looking directly at Sonny, who reached behind him blindly and grabbed at the stack of papers, bringing them out in front of him and looking at her. "Good, great, now go hand them out."

"Sure doll." Sonny nodded at her and excused himself from his group of guys. Peter flashed her a smile and she let out a laugh.

"Any more Oreo cravings since I was by last?" Peter teased.

"No, surprisingly four bags of cookies is a pretty sufficient amount for a craving." She joked right back. "Plus every day seems to be something different; this morning I had vegetable soup and garlic bread for brunch."

"That sounds delicious." Fin remarked.

"I blame the baby." Morgan chuckled. "Excuse me."

She headed over towards the couch where most of Sonny's sisters were sitting near their mother and Riley was kneeling on the floor at the end of the couch where her mother sat. A lot of them were working away at their games but no one was as focused as Riley, who was locked in and not talking to anyone.

When Peter wandered over and crouched down next to her, she jerked in surprise as his hand came to rest on the middle of her back. Pausing only long enough to shoot him a smile, she went right back to her games.

Morgan wandered over and took a trip around the table, her eyes glued to the cake, wondering what secret would be revealed when they cut in to it. She was getting overly excited and at this point in the day, she _just_ wanted to know what she was having.

Sonny came up next to her and grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze as their guests seemed to settle into smaller groups, most of them working on the game sheets. He leaned in and pressed a kiss against the side of her head, feeling her relax a bit at the gesture.

"Have you looked at the chalkboard?" Sonny asked in a low tone.

"No, why, what's in the lead, girl or boy?" Morgan countered.

"Boy, by two."

Morgan let out a hum and glanced around at the people who had shown up for her gender reveal party. Hell, even her mother had shown up, which was the biggest shock of them all. Then again, her mother had been at the bridal shower too and Morgan _was_ her daughter after all, was it so farfetched to think that her mom was halfway decent?

"I just want to know." Morgan whined and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. "Seriously, can we just cut the stupid cake already?"

"I'll make an announcement." Sonny replied with a chuckle.

He reluctantly let go of her and wandered over to stand in front of the couch, most of the guests stopping in their movements to look at him. He cleared his throat and straightened up, preparing himself to make a speech.

"First of all, I want to thank everyone for showing up, we appreciate you guys being here to share in this excitement with us." Sonny started and it was clear that everyone was hanging on to his every word. "If you haven't already, there's a guessing game over on the chalkboard, Morgan and I are going to be cutting the cake soon so please, head on over there and make your guess. As for the games, we'll be revealing the answers to the movies and songs after the cake is cut."

"Ugh boo." Riley murmured and threw her hand into the air. Peter grabbed it and lowered it back down, giving Sonny an apologetic nod. "Lame."

"Right, and for the alphabet game, well, the first person who hands in both sides of their sheet, completed, to me wins." Sonny continued on and Riley leapt to her feet, waving the paper at him. "Okay."

He took it and waved back at the chalkboard, a couple people heading over towards it to make their guesses. He peered down at the sheet and Riley closed the distance between them, standing directly in front of him as he read over the first side of the sheet, a through z were completed for girls names and for the most part, the answers she had written down were pretty good.

She hadn't cheated and made up names, nor had she used random words. Sonny would give it to Riley, at least she played fair.

When he flipped it over, she took a step closer to him and grinned, watching as he read down the list, nodding at her answers. Jesus Riley was no slouch when it came to competition, even if it was just a game at a gender reveal party.

"Okay, well Riley wins the alphabet game!" Sonny called out.

"Ha, yes!" Riley spun on her heels and pointed at her mother. "I am the best, you raised a winner."

"Not a very modest one." Audrey shot back with a knowing smirk. Riley stuck her tongue out at her and went back over to lean against the arm of the couch, Peter slipping his arm around her shoulders once she was settled.

Wandering over to the counter, Sonny set Riley's list on top of it, wondering how she had so many decent names on her sheet. Was the woman already thinking of names for her own children, children that she didn't have yet? Or did she just know a lot of people- oh well now that he thought of it, Riley had known a lot of guys in her past, maybe that gave her an advantage.

Shrugging it off, he opened the one drawer and pulled out a knife to cut the cake with, setting it on the table next to the cake before wandering over to Morgan, who was mingling with Liv and Amanda.

"Desk duty is the worst, but it's better than not working." Amanda had said and Sonny slipped his fingers in between Morgan's.

"I don't mind desk duty." Morgan replied.

"Good because you're going to be doing a lot of it from here on out." Liv added with a knowing look. "No more field for you, not until after that baby's born."

Morgan could only smile at her boss. She'd do whatever she had to in order to keep her baby safe, and if that meant playing by the rules and relegating herself to desk duty, then so be it. Just because Amanda wasn't fond of it, didn't mean Morgan wouldn't be. Hell, if it got her off her feet, then she was content with that.

"Darling!" Her mother's voice called out and Morgan winced at the sheer volume. She hadn't really _wanted_ Charlotte at the party but it only seemed fair to invite her. She figured her father was busy working, that was fine, she'd shoot him a picture of the cake later to let him know what his grandchild was going to be. "Morgan! I'm so happy for you."

Charlotte marched over and hugged her, Morgan tensing at the action. If her mother noticed, she didn't say anything, she just pulled away and locked her eyes on Sonny.

"Thanks mom." Morgan ground the words out and Sonny tugged on her arm, easily dragging her towards the chalkboard, where he quickly counted the most recent tally marks.

He nodded to himself and then headed for the table, stopping at it and standing over the cake. Waiting for people to gather around, he looked at each and every person. Once he was sure that everyone was paying attention, he gave Morgan's hand a squeeze and then picked up the knife with the other one.

The room was dead silent, waiting to hear what he had to say and wanting him to cut into the cake to tell them what their baby was going to be.

"The votes are in." Sonny announced and tightened his grip on the handle. "By a very, _very_ slim margin, you guys think we're having a boy. I guess it's time to find out if you're right."

Sucking in a nervous breath, Sonny lifted the blade up and gingerly pressed it against the top of the cake. He hesitated and looked at Morgan, who was beaming at him, wanting nothing more than for him to dig into the cake and let her know if they were going to have a Michael or an Eva.

The blade sliced through the cake like butter and Sonny quickly pulled it out, glancing at the crumbs on the knife and furrowing his eyebrows. He quickly drove the blade in once again and then freed the first slice out, the room erupting into cheers at the sight of a blue cake.

A boy, they were having a boy! Morgan lunged at him and he managed to drop the knife to the table before anything bad happened, catching Morgan and embracing her tightly in his arms. God he couldn't have been any happier, even if it had been a girl. He honestly hadn't preferred one gender to the other, but it was just a relief to _know_.

"A boy!" Charlotte cried out and when Sonny caught her expression, he felt his body relax; good Charlotte seemed happy about the news.

"May god have mercy on your souls." Barba muttered but it was loud enough that everyone heard him, suddenly most eyes were on him.

"What are you going on about?" Charlotte pressed, leveling the man with a glare; how dare he disturb the happy couple's joyous announcement.

"I was hoping for a mini Morgan, she's sweet." Barba said, his voice louder and firmer than mere seconds ago. "Sonny is the reason god gave us middle fingers, the world really doesn't need two of him."

Riley snorted at the man's words but went silent when Peter shot her a look. Everyone else seemed to be watching Barba carefully, wondering if he was going to have to deal with angry, pregnant Morgan or not. She was known to have mighty mood swings but for some odd reason she adored Barba; sass, sarcasm and all.

"Seriously Rafi?" Morgan chuckled. "While I appreciate the sentiment, is it possible for you, for once in your life, to just say something nice?"

"Okay, I can try for you," Barba paused, seriously considering his next words. After a good thirty seconds of silence, he spoke, "Congratulations Sonny on your demon spawn, at least he'll be tall?"

It was clear to everyone in the room that Barba wasn't entirely sure how to be nice to someone, specifically Sonny, but Sonny apparently appreciated how hard he had seemed to have tried. A smile spread across Sonny's face and he shook his head with a laugh.

"Scale of one to ten, how hard was it to pretend you have a soul?" Sonny asked with a smirk. "From where I'm standing, it looked pretty hard."

"Always hard for you." Barba fired back.

"I give up!" Morgan threw her hands into the air but she didn't sound overly mad. Maybe this party was too good to let her get mad, maybe she was too excited by the news of finding out she was having a boy. "I'm surrounded by jackasses."

"A boy!" Riley yipped, in a lame attempt to get the party back to fun status. Morgan let out a loud bark of laughter and smiled.

"It's a boy." She added and just as suddenly as the first time, the room erupted into applause.

It was good to know that Morgan was having a Michael, and now she couldn't wait to meet him.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley wasn't too sure where exactly she was supposed to meet Peter, seeing as he had merely said 'outside the courthouse', she was at a loss.

There were a lot of people outside the courthouse, but surely she could find Peter right? She knew what he looked like and he was tall, that had to help, except it wasn't helping, not really. She was standing in front of the building waiting for him, praying that he'd at least be able to see her when he came walking out.

She made a mental note to meet him somewhere specific next time, if there was a next time. She had taken a rare afternoon off and left work in time to meet Peter for lunch, which he insisted would be from his favourite hot dog vendor on the sidewalk near the courthouse.

Shaking her head, Riley let out a low growl and wandered closer to the steps to the building. She peered at them and watched carefully, waiting for her fiancé to show up in the crowd of people that had just erupted from the doors. In a little over a minute, she had managed to locate the very man in question.

Lifting her hand into the air, she waved for him and Peter spotted her easily, as if he was drawn right to her. She waited in her spot and when he was close enough, he enveloped her into a hug and kissed her softly on the lips. She melted in his hold and when he pulled away, she took note that he was grinning.

"What?" She gaped.

"I just love seeing you." He countered and leaned in, lowering his voice in her ear. "Those shoes are my favourite."

Riley let out an unladylike snort, "I know."

"Then you also know what they do to me."

"I came here for lunch." She leveled him with a teasing glare.

"Wearing my favourite shoes?"

She cocked her head sideways and a grin took up residence on her face. Oh yeah, she knew exactly what she was doing. She wasn't going to show up for lunch looking like she didn't try to look good, no, she had shown up in full Riley garb, tight skirt, figure hugging shirt and yes, _his_ favourite pair of her shoes.

Overkill for a hot dog date? Maybe, but she liked dressing up for him, no matter the occasion.

"Come on, my guy's over here." Peter took her hand and she let him lead her over to a man behind a food cart.

Considering how much of her life she had lived in New York, she had never been a fan of the 'street meat' scene, in fact, it always made her a little nervous. She didn't trust the food itself and it wasn't like there were readily available bathrooms on the street corners, so, much to Peter's dismay, she rarely ate food off of a cart.

Today though, today she was feeling daring, plus she was heading home after this, meaning she could use the bathroom there if she needed it.

When the man behind the cart greeted Peter, she watched in awe as he even carried on a short but polite conversation. Well, it was obvious that Peter wasn't lying when he said he was taking her to his favourite food stand, the man clearly dealt with Peter on a pretty regular basis.

"What do you want to drink?" Peter questioned, looking sideways at her.

"Water." Riley gave a nod of her head.

"Two hot dogs and two waters."

Riley remained silent while standing at his side. She watched carefully as the man readied two hot dogs for them and handed them over after taking the bill Peter had handed to him. When he held the waters out, Riley stepped in and grabbed them, Peter having let go of her hand minutes earlier.

He then motioned towards a bench not too far away and Riley followed him to it, sitting down gracefully and crossing her legs at the knees. He turned sideways and held out one of the hotdogs as she set the waters on the bench in the space between them.

"Do I say thanks for lunch considering it's a hot dog from some random guy on the street?" She teased and he let out a laugh at her. "Thanks."

"Best hot dog on the block."

"You know what they make hot dogs out of, right?" She questioned and when he shook his head with a smile, she carried on. "Racoon meat and work boots. Scientific fact."

"Inaccurate."

"Well you have your opinion, I have mine." She stated and looked at the hot dog before chancing a glance at him. When she caught sight of him, he was in the middle of taking a bite of his hot dog.

If Peter ate at the guy's cart frequently and was still alive, maybe she'd be okay too. With a deep breath, she took a bite of her own and chewed it carefully, enjoying the taste. As soon as she swallowed, his arm came around her shoulders and he hauled her closer to him, the bottled waters pressed tightly between their thighs.

"Good right?"

She forced a smile onto her face, "it's fine, definitely decent for a wiener."

"My favourite shoes _and_ the word wiener, you are killing me today."

"Your wiener will always be my favourite." She said with a laugh. "I can't believe you eat these all the time. I can make you lunches if you want, it's not that big of a deal."

"I like to get out sometimes."

"Okay." She shook her head, not totally understanding what he saw in the hot dog. It wasn't her first choice but if Peter liked to eat them then who was she to judge? "Do you usually sit here by yourself?"

"I usually have somewhere else to be so I eat on the run."

Riley stared at him, "but not today?"

"I cleared my schedule for you." He teased and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Well thanks."

A comfortable silence fell over them and she worked away at her hot dog, Peter had his gone in a matter of a few bites, something that was both impressive and sort of disturbing. She let her gaze wander to the people moving around in front of her; some of them were dressed rather nicely like her and Peter, some of them were dressed more for comfort and mobility, but nonetheless, she couldn't help but watch the people.

In her line of work, she didn't have a place like this to sit and eat lunch, hell, there weren't even all that many people around her office building to watch. It was fine by her though, she liked her job well enough and she had a few friends there that helped the days pass. This was different though, and to think that Peter could do this whenever he wanted seemed pretty amazing to her.

"Can you believe Morgan's having a boy?" Peter broke the silence first and Riley shook her head no. "You thought she was having a girl?"

"No, I didn't think she was having anything specific, but the whole idea of Morgan being pregnant is still sort of weird to me." Riley stated. "Honestly, the whole idea of being pregnant is weird to me. Sperm meets egg, then that grows into a person, all inside of a woman, it's _weird_."

"I guess I never really thought too much about it."

"Probably better that way."

"But you…you still want a baby?"

"Yeah I still want a baby, doesn't make it any less weird though. Morgan's got this little human being inside of her, sucking away all of her nutrients, and gradually growing larger by the day until the time comes when it doesn't need to be inside her anymore."

Peter gave her shoulder a nudge with his finger, "if you still want that, have you thought any more about when you want to try in vitro for a second time?"

Riley blew out a breath and collapsed against him. She wasn't sure when she wanted to try in vitro again, but with Morgan being pregnant, she knew she definitely wanted to try it again soon. After they were married seemed like the best time for them to try again, at least that way she'd be able to enjoy her wedding without being pregnant.

"I think maybe sometime after the wedding." Riley answered, sounding fairly confident.

He smiled down at her and she moved her arms so that they wrapped around him. She loved this man, he was so patient with her, so supportive of what she wanted. She didn't know if any other man would be as calm as Peter when it came to her issues but she honestly didn't care because she didn't _want_ any other man.

Peter Stone was the one for her and with each day that passed for them, the more confident in that fact she became.

"Oh my god!" A shrill voice broke into Riley's thoughts and she sat up straighter.

When a lean and tall female came jogging right for them, she took a second to study her, wondering if this was someone she was supposed to know, or hell, maybe it was someone Peter was supposed to know. This random female was gorgeous and she was dressed in a tight fitting royal blue dress that fell just above her knees, her black strappy heels even taller than Riley's.

"Uh hi?" Riley lifted her hand up and waved at the woman, but the woman only had eyes for Peter, blatantly ignoring Riley as if she wasn't even there.

"Are you Peter Stone?" God even the woman's voice was attractive, all smooth and buttery. Okay, this woman was officially someone that Riley was jealous of. She had curves in all the right places and legs to die for, and here she was with her attention solely focused on her fiancé, who was giving this woman his attention right back.

"I am."

"Does he know you?" Riley snipped, cozying up tighter against Peter, silently laying claim to what was hers so that this woman would know he wasn't available for the taking.

"No, uh sorry, I'm a huge fan." The woman carried on and Riley raised her eyebrows at her. "Oh my god, of the Cubs, you were one of my favourite players when you were on the team."

"Oh a Cubs fan? That's what you are now?" Riley retorted, a faux sweetness lacing her tone. "Shitty team if you ask me."

"Well I didn't. But holy shit, Peter Stone; I can't believe you're actually here." The woman gushed and Peter shifted forward on the bench. "Can I- would it be weird- do you mind taking a picture with me?"

Peter smiled at her, "yeah, sure."

"What?" Riley barked and he peeled himself away from her, making his way to his feet and leaving her sitting there by herself.

She sat on the bench in awe as the woman finagled her phone and wound up taking a photo of her and Peter, the two of them very close together. Not cool, nope, this woman was encroaching on her territory and she wasn't about to sit back and let it happen.

"I loved watching you pitch. Can I buy you a drink or something?" The woman purred and Riley was on her feet faster than she could say boo.

"What's a Cubs fan doing in New York? You lost or something?" Riley snarled and the woman finally looked in her direction, giving her the attention Riley had been seeking since she came at them. "Move along _girly_."

"Who are you to tell me what to do bitch?" She put her hands on her hips, almost challenging Riley to come at her. The woman had a good few inches on her but Riley was scrappy, she knew how to fight and she figured this woman had sorely underestimated her.

"She's my fiancé." Peter piped up and Riley felt her spine stiffen at his tone. Huh, well, that was unexpected. Here Riley was ready to fight and Peter had said the words so confidently, so smoothly that Riley knew he was on her side. "Maybe she's right, I think you can move along now that you've gotten your picture."

With one final look at Riley, the woman threw a sexy smile in Peter's direction but wandered off without incident. Riley scrunched up her nose at the whole thing and didn't peel her gaze away from the woman's retreating form until Peter took her by the hand and pulled her back down onto the bench.

Only looking away for a second, she caught the concerned look on Peter's face before she peered back out at the people in front of her. She couldn't find the woman though, who had apparently gotten lost within the crowd and disappeared out of Riley's line of sight.

"Were you jealous?" Peter asked, sincerity in his tone. She opened her mouth to object but stopped herself before she could get any words out. Was she jealous? Hell yeah she was jealous, that girl was gorgeous! And she had just waltzed right up to Peter as if Riley hadn't even been there. "Riley, you have nothing to be jealous about."

"Does that happen often?" She asked, holding his gaze.

"Every now and then."

"Are they always such pretty girls?"

"You think she was pretty?" Peter questioned. She looked at him, wondering what he was getting at but she didn't know what sort of answer he was expecting from her.

"Yes." Riley nodded her head, answering honestly. "Didn't you?"

"No." He relaxed against the back of the bench. "She's nowhere close to being as pretty as you."

Riley scoffed at his words but when he turned his head to look at her, she realized that he wasn't trying to be cute or funny, he wasn't saying it just to calm her down, no, he genuinely meant it.

This was the guy she was going to marry, the guy that she wanted to father her children, and suddenly she felt embarrassed of being jealous. Peter Stone loved her, he had chosen her, she had no need to be jealous because his heart belonged to Riley Prescott.

"She loved watching you pitch." Riley remarked.

"I was pretty good." Peter shrugged.

"You were one of her favourite players."

"I know my number one fan is sitting beside me."

"Cheeseball." She fired back at him but set her hand on his thigh. "I am though."

"I know." A smirk toyed at the corners of his lips. "You're the girl who got me my own rookie card."

"I did." She agreed. "I also wear your jersey number to bed every now and then."

"So sexy."

She let out a low hum and twisted her body to face him more directly, her palm sliding up his thigh a little bit further, "I've never actually seen you pitch though."

"Get the gloves out, we can play catch in the backyard this weekend."

"Peter." She scolded. As quick as she could move, she pulled her cell phone out of her skirt pocket and made short work of googling him yet again; something she'd never actually get tired of.

She went right to the videos and chose the first one on the list of results. When the video of him pitching in a Cubs uniform began to play on her phone, her eyes were glued to the screen, watching him in awe as he pitched. He was a thing of beauty, a majestic ball player and he had been pretty decent at it too.

What she wouldn't give to be able to go back in time and watch him play before he had gotten injured though. She loved baseball and the idea of being at one of his games, cheering him on, that was something she would've loved to have been able to do.

"Do you ever miss that life?" Riley asked in a somber voice, not daring to look him in the eye.

"That life didn't have you."

"It had baseball though."

"But no you."

She turned her attention to him and when she finally met his gaze, she felt her heart swell. He was smiling at her, letting her know that even if he did miss baseball, it didn't matter because everything he wanted was sitting right next to him.

After all, baseball was just a game.


	28. Chapter 28

The intention had been for Peter to help Sonny build the crib, though Sonny had insisted he could do it himself, he had given in to Morgan's pleas because if Peter was over, it meant she could spend the afternoon with Riley; and who was Sonny to deny his wife an opportunity to spend some time with her best friend?

Morgan sat on one end of the couch in the living room while Riley sat at the other, the two of them looking at each other and waiting for the next round of curse words to erupt from the nursery upstairs; so far there had been a few good ones from the Catholic man named Sonny, words that neither girl knew he was capable of saying.

"Son of a bitch!" Came Sonny's loud voice and Riley couldn't help but smirk. Morgan fought off a giggle and shook her head, wondering why her husband sounded like he was having such trouble building something as simple as a crib?

It wasn't like they had picked out an elaborate crib, no, it had looked pretty simple set up in the store, but yet, with the amount of swearing coming from the second floor, Morgan figured it probably wasn't as easy as Sonny and her had believed.

"I feel like he's struggling, a _lot_." Riley remarked with a chuckle. "Which is kind of funny because Sonny seems like he'd be pretty good at putting shit together."

Morgan gave a quick shake of her head, "typical male that he is, he throws the instructions out of the way as soon as he sees them."

"Why? Instructions make everything so much easier." Riley remarked with a knowing smile. "They're there for a reason."

"Oh I know that, and you obviously know that, but Sonny Carisi is a stubborn old fart when it comes to instructions. He thinks they're a waste of paper." Morgan explained. "He'd much rather spend an extra couple of hours fighting with things than to just look at the instructions."

"Men confuse me." Riley teased. "Can you imagine if we relied on a man to build all of our shit when we moved into the apartment? We would've waited forever."

"You had that stuff put together so fast!" Morgan gaped. "I was so surprised at first, you're a master builder, you know that, right? There was so much stuff to build and you did it all."

"I may not be able to build stuff with planks and saws and stuff but I can put it together like a son of a bitch. I didn't go to engineering school for nothing."

"Fuck!" Sonny's voice was getting louder and louder with each passing minute. Riley snorted at his word and made a move to stand up, Morgan following suit. The two of them paused in front of the couch and waited for another curse word to erupt. After a good thirty seconds of silence, Riley shook her head and stepped away from the couch.

The two of them wandered towards the stairs side by side and climbed up them, pausing at the top and giving each other a smirk.

What would they encounter when they approached the nursery? Would Sonny be about ready to pitch the whole crib out the window? And what about Peter, who was in the room with Sonny but had yet to make a sound loud enough for them to hear? What was he doing with the crib; was he trying to help Sonny build it or was he just staying silent and watching Sonny curse?

With an ever-growing smirk on her face, Morgan wandered towards the baby's room, Riley trailing along behind her, and poked her head inside, taking in the sight in front of her. Sonny was kneeling on the ground, Peter beside him, with the crib way less than half built on the floor. There was a small plastic bowl full of screws and brackets nearby, pieces of wood belonging to the crib behind him and the one side of the baby's bed half built and leaning against the wall; the freshly painted light blue wall.

The name 'Michael' was hanging on the wall, made out of wooden letters painted a shiny black colour. Morgan had gotten Sonny to hang them once the room itself had been painted (complete with white trim along the door, window and baseboards), which Sonny had done all by himself because he had insisted that Morgan was not to ingest paint fumes if she was pregnant.

Overall, he had done a great job on the room itself, but it still lacked furniture, which was what the two men were working on as she looked into the room, happy that they were one step closer to being prepared to welcome their little boy into the world.

"What's the next step?" Sonny muttered to his partner and the two of them turned around, looking for something, Morgan could only guess that it was the instructions but then again, it wasn't like Sonny would use them even if he found them. Sonny turned the opposite way and let out a groan, not seeing the booklet of instructions that was tucked half under his feet directly behind him.

Riley took up a stance inside the room and furrowed her eyebrows at the total lack of crib. The two of them had been upstairs in the room for a good hour and _this_ was as far as they had gotten. What the hell had they been doing this whole time? Why wasn't the crib more than partly built?

"How many lawyers does it take to build a crib?" Morgan posed, clearly making fun of them.

"Hey, where's your best friend Barba?" Riley piped up and Morgan threw her head back in laughter.

"He was adamant about being smart enough to hire someone else to do it." Morgan answered, receiving a glare from her lovely husband.

"That's what I tried to get him to do." Sonny growled and Riley looked from him to Peter, who merely raised his hands in defeat.

"And what am _I_ here for?" Peter pressed.

"To distract Morgan from his lack of manly abilities." Riley joked.

"Hey, I got her pregnant, didn't I?" Sonny fired back. Riley lifting a hand up as if to say 'okay, point taken', but she didn't move from her spot in the door.

"Have you never built anything before?" Morgan leveled Peter with a look, and he offered her a shrug.

"Cribs are complex." Peter replied, as if it was the simplest response in the world.

"Need some help?" Riley asked and Sonny's entire body stiffened at the sound. Letting out a giggle, Morgan entered the room, standing next to Riley, and planted her hands on her hips.

Riley wandered in further though and dropped down sit next to Peter, leaning against his side as he held the one piece of crib in his hand, waiting for Sonny to tell him what to do with it. Sonny dropped back down directly on his butt and Riley leaned forward, reaching behind him and grabbing hold of the instructions, pulling them free from his feet and offering them to him.

"Uh no, no I got this." Sonny countered, glancing around the room, taking in the sight of the pieces of the unbuilt crib, as he took the instructions in his hand before tossing them back to the floor. "I think I got this."

"Rule number one of master building is to read the fucking instructions." Riley instructed and grabbed hold of them once again, flipping them open to the first step. "May I?"

"Go for it." Peter waved at the scattered pieces in front of him, ready and willing to let her take the lead.

"No hey, she doesn't get to come in here when we're almost done and take the glory. Seriously, we got this." Sonny argued and whipped the booklet out of her hands. Riley shot a knowing look over her shoulder to Morgan, who fought back a smile, knowing that Riley just wanted to get her hands on the crib and get it put together, preferably without swearing and cursing.

"Why don't you come down for a snack?" Morgan suggested in an attempt to entice Sonny out of the room. "And a beer. I feel like you two men need a beer, you've certainly earned it."

"Mo, we're busy here." Sonny countered.

"Busy with _what_ exactly? Making kindling?" Riley retorted.

"No, we're busy trying to get some of this furniture built; and yeah, okay maybe it's not going as smoothly as I figured, but we're still going to build it because that's what us men do, we build stuff." Sonny growled.

"Sonny Bunny, come take a break." Morgan said softly and let out a hum. "And have a beer, please?"

"I just thought that since I'm going to be a dad, I should maybe make an attempt to put this shit together."

"And what a fine attempt it is." Riley snorted, Sonny glaring at her. She merely smirked at him, waiting for him to argue back or bark out a snide remark, but he didn't, instead, he remained silent.

"Seriously, break and beer." Morgan glared and before either man could object, Peter was on his feet offering a hand to Sonny to help him up too. "Good."

Morgan led the two guys out of the room and down the stairs, where they took a seat at the table. She freed two bottles of beer from the fridge, popped the caps off and set them down, one in front of each man. Sonny dropped his head against the table and let out a dramatic sigh, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do if he couldn't get the damn crib put together.

Surely him and Peter, two highly intelligent people, could figure it out, right? So why were they struggling so bad? Why was it so hard?

"You know Riley's a master builder." Morgan offered up with a smile.

"Took her more for a masterbator." Sonny countered and Morgan slapped him on the shoulder, taking offense for the girl who wasn't even in the room to defend herself.

"Hey!" Peter objected. "Don't talk about my fiancé like that, even though it was kind of funny."

"Sorry. I just didn't think-"

"She's an engineer you know." Morgan cut him off with a knowing smile. "Way smarter than anyone else I know."

"Law school." Sonny stated.

"I stand by my statement." Morgan cooed. She headed back over to the fridge and pulled out a couple bricks of cheese, working away at cutting up some pieces off each of them.

She then moved over and pulled a couple boxes of crackers out of the cupboard, setting them on the surface in front of Sonny before dropping a small pile of sliced cheese on the table too, not even bothering with a plate. Without a word between them, Morgan wandered back over to the fridge, put the cheeses away, and got some cold meat to go along with the cheese and crackers.

Once the two boys were silently munching away, she peered over towards the hallway stairs and listened for any loud, unnerving noises coming from the nursery but all she could hear was silence. Shooting a quick text to Riley, Morgan sat down at the table with the two and nabbed a couple crackers and some cheese.

"Aren't you excited though?" She asked in a low tone, scared that if she asked too loudly that she'd ruin the moment of peace and quiet that she had managed to achieve. She wanted to get Sonny's mind off of the crib, at least for the time being.

"For what exactly?" Sonny asked back, bringing his hand up and running it through his hair.

"For the crib to be built?" Peter threw out and took a big swig of beer. "Because that would be exciting seeing how complicated it is to put together."

"So help me god, I will build that fucking thing if it's the last thing I do." Sonny muttered.

"No no, for the baby." Morgan rolled her eyes.

"Well yeah, of course I am. I'm ecstatic." Sonny stated firmly but his voice was softer than it had been seconds ago, soothing to her now that he didn't sound as frustrated and angry. She didn't want him to be frustrated by something as simple as a crib but she knew that he couldn't help it. He was trying so hard to get himself ready to be a dad and Morgan appreciated every second of it.

"Our own little baby." Morgan murmured. "Michael Anthony."

"Good name." Peter gave her a nod.

"And you?" Morgan questioned, looking over at Peter. "Are you and Ry any closer to getting pregnant?"

Peter shook his head no, "we've sort of put it on hold until after we're married."

Morgen gave him a nod of understanding and made her way back to her feet. She wandered back and forth across the kitchen, letting the two men snack on their crackers, cheese and meat, as well as drink their beers. She eventually settled in to lean against the counter and busied herself with her phone, reading the response that Riley had sent her.

_'All good up here so far, keep the guys out of my hair for a little while longer.'_

Good, Riley was doing just fine on the crib, at least Morgan assumed so by her text message, and honestly, she had faith in her friend. Riley had put together many things in their apartment, end tables, bookshelves, a nightstand too, and it had all seemed fairly easy for her.

She clearly enjoyed putting things together, and she was damn good at it, Morgan just hoped that Riley could get it mostly together before Sonny realized what she was doing up in the nursery and put a stop to it. He was too proud to give up but if, by the time he went back upstairs, the crib was mostly done, then it wasn't like he would take it apart just to put it back together again.

"I feel bad for Ry, she deserves to have a baby, you know?" Morgan said.

"She'd make a great mother." Sonny added, genuinely meaning it. "She's a good woman too."

"I agree." Peter smiled. "To both."

Morgan beamed at him and felt proud of Riley. Riley was her best friend, she was glad that she had managed to find a man like Peter, a man she wanted to settle down with, the one man that had managed to steal her heart. Peter Stone was good for Riley, and Morgan was glad for that.

They worked well together too. Peter was patient with Riley and Morgan knew how important it was for friend to have a patient partner. She was frustrating at the best of times, Morgan certainly couldn't imagine how much trouble Riley could be in the worst of times, or when she was having trouble conceiving.

Riley was an anxiety ridden person. Peter knew that, he had witnessed her panic attacks, once at the early stages of their relationship. It didn't matter though, Riley was a great woman, a woman he loved and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, anxiety, infertility and all.

"Is your baby going to be here before or after our wedding?" Peter spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. Sonny was no longer munching away, instead he was slumped back in his chair sipping on his beer and seemingly relaxing from his previous state of frustration.

"He's due before." Morgan answered with a smile. "But not by a lot. Thank god because I don't really want to be fat in my bridesmaid dress."

"Not fat, pregnant, which is beautiful." Sonny piped up. "You're gorgeous Mo, pregnant or not and you'll look gorgeous as Riley's bridesmaid no matter what."

"Suck up." Peter joked. Morgan wandered over and stood behind Sonny, leaning down so that her forearms rested against his shoulders. She ran her hand over his chest and Sonny reached up, taking hold of her hand, ceasing the movement

"It works though." Morgan whispered, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. She then straightened up and leaned her hip against his chair, Sonny still holding on to her hand. "I love being buttered up."

"Happy wife, happy life." Sonny stated with a smile.

Morgan's face broke out into a giant smile and her gaze flickered down to the side of his head. Yes, this Sonny was much nicer to deal with than angry, swearing Sonny, and Morgan would keep him this way as long as she could. She just hoped that Riley was getting close to finishing the crib, because she wasn't sure how much longer Sonny was going to sit in the kitchen drinking his beer.

"We should head back upstairs." Peter suggested and Sonny freed himself from Morgan's hold before making his way to his feet. He chugged back the last of his beer, Peter doing the same, before the two of them took off for the stairs. Morgan did a quick clean-up and then followed suit, heading up the stairs and stopping just outside the nursery.

The two men were blocking the doorway and when Morgan forced her way into the room, she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight. Riley had managed to get most of the crib put together and had a few pieces left, Sonny was staring at her in awe while Peter was grinning from ear to ear.

"Like I said, master builder." Morgan remarked and carried on into the room further, pausing at the end of the nearly fully built crib. She ran her hand over the railing and shot Riley a smile. "You're a genius Ry."

"Yeah, a genius who reads the damn instructions." She muttered in response, not even bothering to waste her time to look over at Sonny. "They were put in the fucking box for a reason; dumbass."

"Hey!" Sonny fired back but Riley merely paused, shot him a glare, and then went right back to finishing up the crib.

Morgan gave Sonny's chest a pat and the trio watched Riley work away at the last few little things that needed to be done. A few minutes later, she stepped back and looked at the crib, loving that she had managed to put it together. She loved building things, she loved putting them together and figuring it all out, and this crib was a fun activity to her.

Peter stepped forward and slipped his arm around her waist, hugging her closer to him while Sonny sauntered in and inspected the crib, running his hand over each and every piece of wood he could find. He even gave the whole thing a rough shake, testing to make sure it was sturdy and once he was sure that it was good, he took a step back and admired Riley's work.

"What else can I put together?" Riley asked, Sonny letting out a huff at her question. Peter leaned in and kissed the side of her head, proud of the woman he was going to marry. "Seriously, got anything else you need me to put together?"

"I can handle it from here." Sonny grumbled.

"We can put the mattress in though!" Morgan announced and Sonny gave a nod of understanding before disappearing from the room. Morgan wandered closer to the crib and peered inside of it, loving that her friend had managed to put it together so easily while Sonny, who had refused to use the instructions, had struggled so badly.

"God I want one." Riley murmured.

"A crib?" Peter teased, knowing exactly what she meant; she wanted a baby.

"Yes, I want a crib for the baby I can't have." Riley scoffed, feeling him tense against her. She turned to look at him and forced a smile onto her face, letting him know that she was teasing, even if it held the tiniest bit of hurt.

"One day." Morgan tossed out, letting a silence fall over them.

Sonny came bounding back into the room lugging the mattress for the crib, which had been left in their bedroom. He lifted it up and slipped it inside the crib, letting it settle against the bottom. The four of them merely stood there admiring the piece of furniture, Morgan with a giant smile on her face and Riley with a wishful expression.

"Bet you can't fit in there." Riley challenged suddenly and Morgan straightened up at the dare.

She marched over to the crib and started to lift her leg over the railing but Sonny grabbed her hand and put a stop to it.

"You'll get stuck." He stated but Morgan shook her head, pulled away from his grip and climbed right in.

Morgan managed to get herself in the crib and she dropped down to sit cross-legged, grinning at the three people remaining in the room. Sonny gave her an impressed look while Riley fought back the urge to laugh.

"Can you lay down?" Riley mused and Morgan turned her head sideways, looking down at the mattress and debating if she wanted to try- well hell yeah she did.

She wanted to fit, she wanted to prove Riley that she could and damnit, she was going to give it her all.

Morgan gracefully tucked and rolled so that she was laying in the fetal position in the crib. Riley gave her a snort of amusement and watched as Morgan wriggled, getting herself comfortable (well as comfortable as she could) in the crib. When Morgan let out a small whimper, Sonny was quick to reach in and offer her his hand.

"What's the matter Mo?" Sonny asked and ran his hand up her side.

"Okay, so I might…I might be stuck." Morgan stated and Riley broke out into a fit of laughter. In her head, worst case scenario is that they took the crib apart to get Morgan out, there was no need to panic, it was a simple enough process.

"Actually stuck?" Sonny tilted his head to the side and studied Morgan.

Morgan made an attempt to move but only managed to twist her body up worse. Her elbow was stuck between two of the rungs and her legs were bent and crossed over one another.

Sonny gave her hip a gentle squeeze and Morgan huffed at the predicament that she had gotten herself into. Riley couldn't contain her laughter at all and when Morgan made a pitiful attempt to get herself out, she merely laughed even louder than she had been seconds before.

Sonny shook his head at Morgan in amusement and fought off the urge to laugh himself- at this point what more could he really do. In front of his very eyes, twisted up like a pretzel, inside the crib, was Morgan, a glare very present on her face and a growl erupting from her throat. She did _not_ like to be the source of someone else's amusement.

"Are you really stuck?" Peter questioned and stepped closer to the crib with Riley, getting a better look at the woman tucked away inside.

Morgan made another attempt to get out but she wound up with her face pressed against the rungs of the crib. She stuck her tongue out at Riley outside the baby bed and then moved her arms slightly and made a lame attempt to grab at her best friend through the crib.

"I thought you were smart enough to ignore a bet that you couldn't fit in there. It's a crib, it's made for a baby." Riley teased.

"Joke's on you, I do fit." Morgan shot back and wiggled her feet as she tried to free herself from the confines of the crib.

"Wow, so you really are stuck." Peter chuckled and Sonny made a move to reach in to help Morgan but the pregnant woman scowled at him and waved him off.

"I got this." Morgan mumbled and locked her eyes on Riley, who was trying to hold back a grin.

"There's no way you can get out on your own." Riley jeered and Sonny moved his hand up, running it over the top of her head gently.

"I think maybe you should shut your face." Morgan grumbled.

Morgan thrashed the slightest little bit inside the crib and managed to get her feet out and stuck them into the air before pausing to take a break.

Morgan scooted backwards as much as she possibly could and ended up freeing her shoulders from the position they had been stuck in. Propping her feet up on the top of the railing, Morgan managed to give herself more room to maneuver while simultaneously managing to get herself free.

Getting into a kneeling position, she wrapped her arms around Sonny and held him tight while glaring up at Riley, who was standing just out of reach with an amused grin on his face.

"I bet you can't fit in there too." Riley commented, giving Sonny's back a rough pat.

"Riley." Morgan hissed. "Shut up."

She made another move to get out of the crib but let out a wince, Sonny immediately tensing at the sound.

"What's wrong?" Sonny wrapped his hands around the top railing and leaned over the crib, watching Morgan carefully as she pressed her hands into her lower back.

"It's moving." Morgan whispered. "I can feel him moving."

Morgan blew out a low sigh and leaned her back against the side railing of the crib. She ran her hands up and down her sides, digging her fingers into her flesh gently, massaging her flesh. Sonny threw her a smile before motioning for Morgan to finally get out of the crib.

Morgan carefully made her way out of the crib, cautiously throwing her leg over the side, before climbing out, with Sonny there to keep her stable.

"Is he still moving?" Riley quipped in a low tone.

"Um, maybe." Morgan replied, stepping forward. She took Sonny's hand and gently placed it near her side. "Wait for it."

Morgan set her hand on top of Sonny's, pressing on it gently, the two of them completely silent as they waited. Seconds later, a slight movement bounced off Sonny's palm, and he let out a gasp at the feeling.

"Wow Mo!" Sonny stared at Morgan, eyes wide with amazement. "That's so cool."

"Yeah, it is."

"Can I feel too?" Riley asked in a whisper.

Morgan took hold of Riley's hand and lifted it upward and towards her side, pressing her palm right next to where Sonny's remained.

"He might've settled down but he _might_ do it again." Morgan explained in a low tone. She moved Riley's hand so that it was right next to Sonny's and leaned against his chest, waiting for movement.

Morgan remained still, not moving a muscle as she waited for something- anything- to happen. Peter remained out of reach but Riley was staring at her in awe. Sonny drummed his fingers against her flesh and, yet again, another slight movement bounced off his hand, Riley feeling it too.

"Holy shit!" Riley immediately turned her attention towards Sonny, who was smiling wide.

"Right?" Sonny grinned and reluctantly moved his hand away, grasping Morgan's hand with it instead. Riley stepped back, her hand falling to her side.

"Okay, now _I_ need a beer." Riley stated and smiled at Morgan.

"Yes, beer, I could go for another beer too!" Sonny threw out.

He grabbed hold of Morgan's hand, Riley reaching for Peter, and let her lead the way out of the nursery and into the hall.

Now that the crib was built, Morgan felt a lot better about having a baby. She'd have somewhere to put him when he was born, thank god for Riley and her skills.

Sonny would have another chance though, there was still some more furniture for him to put together and Morgan couldn't wait until he did.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

There was a car in her driveway that didn't belong to her or Sonny, or Barba for that matter, no, this car belonged to someone that Morgan preferred not to have to see when she didn't have to. Why in the _hell_ was Gina at her house, and more importantly, what was she currently talking to Sonny about seeing as the two of them were inside, _alone_?

Surely Gina was informing Sonny that he had married the devil and then impregnated said devil, that seemed very likely seeing as her and Gina were still not getting along like the sisters-in-law that they were. God Morgan hated how they still treated her like some random bimbo who was with their brother, she loved Sonny, why couldn't they see that? Why did they have to act like she was not worthy of their brother's affection?

"Don't let her get to you." Barba sing-songed as he wandered to the back of his car and pulled the many shopping bags from the confines of the trunk. "You're a better woman than her."

Morgan simply growled as she stared at the front door of her house. Gina didn't need to even _be_ in her home, especially when she wasn't there. It bothered her, a lot, and Morgan wasn't sure how to handle it.

She could walk right into her house and kick Gina out but that wasn't really being the bigger person. Did she really care about that now though? She was hormonal, she was pregnant and she just wanted her home to double as her sanctuary, which it currently was not seeing as Gina was inside.

"I don't want to be the better woman, I want to kick her in the ovaries."

"Hit her where it counts." Barba smirked.

"She just makes me so mad." Morgan muttered and let Barba take the lead as he closed the trunk of his car and lugged the bags towards the front door.

Morgan wrapped her hands around her keys, which were in the pocket on her jacket, but she figured it would be unlocked. When she got to the door and tried the handle, she smiled to herself and waltzed right into her home, locking her eyes on Gina and Sonny, who were sitting at the kitchen table having a coffee together.

"This guy is a walking sin." Gina remarked right off the bat and Morgan snarled in response.

"Hello, I'm fine, thank you for asking." Barba snipped back and wandered into the living room, where he promptly set the bags down on the couch, Morgan sticking right by his side.

"Play nice Gina." Sonny scolded and stood up, wandering over to greet Morgan with a kiss, but she turned her head and let him peck her on the cheek. He cocked his head at her but when he took note that Morgan was glaring at Gina, he knew what was wrong. "Buy anything interesting?"

"Yeah." Morgan's sour look dissolved quickly and she closed in on the bags, digging right in and looking for something specific.

Barba shot Sonny a knowing look but Sonny was too busy looking between his sister (who was currently silent) and his wife. Morgan moved on to the next bag and when she finally managed to find what she was looking for, she freed it from the bag and held it up, turning to face Sonny with a tiny, baby sized three-piece suit in her grasp.

It was a deep navy-blue colour with a white dress shirt to go underneath it and even had a little black bow tie to match. She beamed at the suit with a proud smile and Sonny let out a laugh.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen." Sonny teased and grabbed at the sides of the suit with his hands, getting a better look at it. "Why would they even make something like this for a baby?"

"Because it's cute." Morgan countered. "And anyways, Rafi bought it for little Michael."

"When's he ever going to get a chance to wear this?" Sonny let out a chuckle and Morgan handed it off to him, digging back into the bags and pulling out a pair of tiny baby dress shoes. Sonny's eyes bugged out slightly at the sight but before he could stop himself, he started laughing.

A suit for a baby? God it was such a ridiculous sight to see, and when the heck would they ever get a chance to put Michael in it? He certainly wouldn't be wearing it around like an everyday outfit.

"Riley's wedding." Morgan stated and Sonny stared at her, wondering what she was going on about- oh yeah, he had asked her when the baby would ever wear the suit. It _was_ navy, which meant it fit in with the groomsmen suits. Maybe Morgan _did_ have a point, this would be too cute on Michael at Riley's wedding. "He can't just show up in a lame old onesie."

"He'll be even better dressed than his father." Barba threw in with a smirk. "You're welcome."

"You…wow you really thought of everything." Sonny shook his head, more in awe than anything. He hadn't given it much thought but Michael was due before Riley was supposed to get married, he just figured they'd manage to find something for the kid to wear, but this- as ridiculous as it was- was perfect. "Bow tie and all."

"Not so ridiculous now is it?" Morgan shot him a glare and grabbed it from his hand, stuffing it back into the bag along with the shoes. "I also managed to find some fun things for me, but since you're being a bit of a turd, you don't get to see that stuff."

"Like a slutty outfit?" Gina piped up from her place at the table. She had, thankfully, remained silent during the whole suit presentation. God only knew what she was thinking, but she _had_ kept her stupid mouth shut. "You know Sonny's this kid's father- wait, he _is_ the father right?"

"Gina." Sonny hissed and he threw an apologetic look at Morgan.

"Well as the probable father, don't you think _he_ should be the one buying baby clothes for your son?"

"What?" Morgan cast a shocked look in Gina's direction. "I just figured-"

"You figured what? Because Sonny would've loved to have gone shopping to pick out adorable three-piece baby suits, instead you chose to go with the walking sin." Gina remarked, standing up but remaining in the kitchen.

Sonny looked at his sister with a curious expression but quickly turned his attention to Morgan, who was looking like she was about to cry. Damn the hormones, he didn't want her to cry, and he certainly didn't want the reason she was about to cry to be because his sister didn't know when to shut her mouth.

"I…I didn't…I just figured…" Morgan stammered and when Sonny reached out to try and comfort her, she shied away from him. "I'm sorry Sonny Bunny…"

"Why?" Sonny countered quickly.

"Don't apologize." Barba huffed.

"She's right though." Morgan whimpered.

"No she's not." Sonny shook his head, leveling his sister with a glare.

"She most certainly is _not_ right." Barba was bordering on yelling but Gina didn't seem to flinch. "First of all, Sonny is not allowed to go shopping for the baby because he has shit taste and bad judgement, which is evident by the fact that he still allows you to be in his life."

"Rafi." Morgan murmured, unsure how she felt about conflict at this precise moment. Gina wasn't totally wrong, but did that mean she just got to say whatever she wanted?

"Secondly," Barba carried on as if Morgan hadn't said a word, "and I know it's hard, but if you could pull your head out of your ass for two seconds and focus on something besides yourself you would know that your brother doesn't give a shit about clothes- although look at how you're dressed, that clearly runs in the family."

"Who do you think you are?" Gina barked.

"Gina." Sonny raised his voice, shooting his sister a warning glance. "Now's maybe not the best time, okay? Please just leave it alone?"

"Now's not the best time?" Barba piped up and shook his head in disbelief.

"I don't even know what I did to you." Morgan was staring at Gina, her eyes welling up with tears. "I have tried to be nothing but nice to you-"

"You didn't do anything Mo." Sonny broke in softly.

Morgan dropped her head and tried to fight off the tears that were threatening to spill. She didn't want to give Gina the satisfaction of knowing she had made her cry, instead, she'd try her hardest to pull herself together. She wasn't going to give in to Gina's bullying.

"Hey, Mo?" Sonny called out to her, his voice calm and soothing. She shook her head but brought her eyes up to meet his.

"It's fine." She forced the words out and Sonny studied her for a few more seconds, knowing that it wasn't fine. Gina had gotten to her, she had put ideas in her head and Sonny didn't like that one bit. He loved Morgan and he should've done a better job at protecting her from his sister.

"Honest to God Mo, you can go shopping with whoever you want, _whenever_ you want." Sonny supplied and Morgan sucked in a shaky breath. "I swear to you, I'm not mad that you went with Barba, but I certainly would've taken you if you wanted."

Morgan let out the breath she had sucked in and shook her head. Her hands were up in the air and she was glancing over her shoulder at the man in question. It wasn't that she didn't _want_ to go shopping with Sonny, it was just that it hadn't been a shopping trip where she was planning to buy much for the baby, no, she had gone more for her than anything.

Barba had happened to find the baby suit though and that had spurred Morgan on. The fact of the matter was, she had bought more stuff for herself than for Michael and she figured Sonny wouldn't want to participate in _that_ sort of shopping.

Forcing a smile onto her face and letting out a snort, she locked her eyes on Sonny, "no offense Sonny Bunny but Rafi here is more fun to shop with."

"Shopping is mine!" Barba snipped, eliciting a genuine giggle from Morgan. "That and Broadway."

"I'm not going to see anything on Broadway until I get back to my normal urination schedule." Morgan countered. "Being pregnant sucks for my bladder."

"And your skin." Gina muttered but when Sonny shot her a look, she plastered on the fakest smile ever. "Well, I guess we're all done here Sonny. I really hope your wife here was faithful but I guess we'll get to see the truth when that kid's born."

"And it'll look exactly like Sonny you skank." Morgan barked.

"Sure sure." Gina waved her hand at Morgan and meandered to the front door.

"I'm sorry, I missed the part where anyone asked for your fucking opinion!" Barba called out after her but she didn't even glance back at him, didn't even give him the time of day.

The house was silent as she slipped on her shoes, grabbed her jacket from the tiny closet there and left through the front door. Morgan let out a low growl as the devil herself disappeared from her home, then she set her sights on Sonny.

"You know this kid is yours, right?" She pressed, desperate to find out if any of what Gina had said had gotten to him. "I'm not-"

"I know Mo." Sonny cut her off with a smile. "I know."

Barba gave Morgan a pat on her shoulder and she curled into his grip, letting the man comfort her from her horrific Gina experience. When were his sisters going to realize that she was here to stay and that her and Sonny loved each other? She would never dream of cheating on him and the baby _was_ his, so what was so wrong with Gina that she had to fire out low blows to try and get to Morgan?

"You're still a better woman than her." Barba commented and Morgan let out a sigh. "Do you think when she was plotting with her flying monkeys that she thought about what was going to happen here?"

"She's just mean." Morgan remarked with a scowl.

"Sonny, have you not realized that she's a little bitch _yet_?"

Morgan snorted at his question and dropped down to sit on the couch, a smile present on her face. Leave it to Barba to make her feel better, even though she prayed that there would come a day when Gina would at least be civil to her.

She just wanted to be welcomed into Sonny's family and not have to fight with his sisters every time she saw them.

Was that too much to ask for?


	29. Chapter 29

"God these seats are great Mo." Riley commented with a smile on her face as she wandered down the aisle of their section. Morgan was trailing along behind her, every so often peering around and taking in the sight of Yankees stadium

It had been quite a while since she had attended a Yankees game but when Riley had gotten the tickets, she hadn't anticipated Peter landing a big case and having to work late the last few nights, along with Sonny, which is precisely why Morgan was here with her now. She didn't have anything better to do either and a Yankees game sounded like fun, even if she was extremely pregnant.

Turning down the row where their seats were, Riley led the charge and matched the number on their ticket stubs with the number on the seats. At the sight of their chairs, Riley let out a soft sigh of relief and lowered herself down, offering Morgan a hand to take whatever Morgan didn't want to carry, such as her jacket, or her purse. She just wanted to be as helpful to her pal as possible and if that meant holding her jacket while Morgan got as comfortable as she could on the plastic stadium seats, then that's what she'd do.

Morgan had originally been crazy excited at the idea of sitting in the stands and watching the Yankees kick ass but she was already finding herself feeling drained and tired. It was hard for her to move in general; her joints ached, her body had extra weight from the baby and, although being super pregnant made it a _little_ bit harder for her to see where her feet were going, she still managed to make it to her seat without incident, which she carefully lowered herself into.

"I can't believe Peter passed up these seats." Morgan prodded and nodded her head in the direction of the field, which was closer than Morgan had been expecting. "Also can't believe he passed up an opportunity to sit next to you and watch the fucking Yankees."

"It's not like he planned on it Mo, he wasn't super thrilled to be missing out but I know that sometimes work takes precedent. I promised him we'd go to another game whenever he can." Riley let out a soft laugh, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He's probably lucky he's got Sonny who's so willing to help him out." Morgan smiled and Riley shook her head. "What do you mean no?"

"Mo, it's also Sonny's _job_ so he sort of has to."

"Huh, well, that's…definitely a good point." Morgan remarked flatly. "I guess you have a point."

"Yeah, well, I guess it's probably a good opportunity for Sonny too though." Riley stated. "Peter's a great attorney, him and Sonny work well together."

"I know right, they're such a great team. Sometimes I still can't believe that Sonny made it to ADA from SVU."

"He's a good lawyer." Riley offered with a shrug. "If he didn't deserve it, he wouldn't have gotten it."

Morgan let out a laugh, "still, he used to be _my_ partner."

"Yeah, and then you fucked him. That would've been awkward for you to keep working together, especially once you got hitched."

"Even more awkward now that I'm pregnant." Morgan joked. "Can you imagine if him and I were on SVU together now? He'd never let me leave the precinct."

Riley took her bottom lip in between her teeth and glanced out at the field, watching the players as they busied themselves with batting practice and fielding drills. Morgan had known it was still a bit of a sore subject with Riley, the idea that she wasn't able to have a baby of her own would be tough on anyone, but that didn't mean the topic was off limits, hell, nothing was off limits when it came to the two of them, not anymore.

Not since Riley had told Morgan her only secret. She didn't regret it, no, Morgan did deserve to know, but it was getting harder and harder to cope with. Riley loved that Morgan was having a baby, she just hated that she couldn't.

"Are you and Peter still trying to have a baby?" Morgan asked, lowering her voice slightly.

Using a shrug as her answer, Morgan leveled Riley with a glare and growled at her, urging her to delve deeper into the unusual situation.

"You can't cop out this time." Morgan mumbled. "I'm your best friend."

"I know." Riley groaned in response. "I don't know what I'm doing lately. We're not using protection but we haven't for a long time. It doesn't matter because it doesn't work anyways. I think we're in a decent place right now, we have the wedding to look forward to, so it's all sort of up in limbo until after we're married."

"But if he loves you-"

"He does love me, but sometimes it's hard. I'm a lot to deal with on a good day, I definitely don't envy Peter for being with me."

"Ry, you're a great catch." Morgan snorted. "He loves you, that's what people who love you do, they stick by you."

"Yeah but sometimes it feels like maybe I'm too much for him. You know what happened to my parents, my dad left, he went on to have a family of his very own that didn't involve me, that could happen to me too."

"Yeah but your dad was an asshole, Peter's not." Morgan leveled her friend with a firm look. "Ry, if you're having these thoughts, maybe you should talk to Peter, lay it out, tell him what you're feeling."

"I can't…honestly Mo, I'm scared shitless." Riley hissed and felt her muscles tensing. Before she could get too worked up though, she peered down at the seats in front of her and inhaled a deep breath. "What if I never have a baby and ten years down the road he resents me for it? What if we're together for thirty years and all of a sudden he explodes on me and tells me that I ruined his life and that he's not happy and he needs to get out of our marriage and I'm left old, broken and all alone?"

"Okay, first of all, I think your imagination has gotten even more active than I remember, and second of all, _talk_ to Peter. Maybe he's okay with the fact that-"

"You say that like it'll be a nice, casual conversation." Riley's eyes bugged out of her head and she held her breath before she could start to really panic. "What if _I_ never have kids, ever?"

"Chill out Ry." Morgan shook her head and winced as she shifted in her seat. "You're getting worked up over nothing. You need to sit down and talk to Peter, then the two of you need to figure your shit out and come up with a plan."

Riley nodded her understanding and blew out the breath she had been holding. She was still incredibly nervous and horrible scenarios of him getting frustrated and even leaving her continued to run through her mind, but she was with Morgan, they were together, they were at the game and the Yankees were getting ready to play.

Sucking in a few more deep breaths, Riley managed to calm herself enough to maybe enjoy the game. Morgan leaned her head on Riley's shoulder and ran her hand across Riley's back, simply basking in the feeling of being next to her best friend while they planned on watching some great baseball.

A comfortable silence fell over them and they merely sat in their seats, watching batting practice come to an end. The two girls continued to watch the action on the field, which was coming to a lull, a few players warming up here and there, the pitchers heading out to the bullpen to get loose, but it was enough to keep them entertained without having to say anything to each other.

After standing and sitting for the anthems, Morgan leaned back over and rested her head on Riley's shoulder yet again, seeking out a comfort that only her friend could give her. She was content with watching the game in silence with Riley, seeing as it would be the last game she'd ever attend without having a baby to contend with.

In Morgan's mind, she counted down the days until she'd see her own little wee baby, which was only a few weeks away, unless something went awry, and boy could things certainly go awry. She had known all about the bad things that could happen to people, it was part of her job to witness the worst that humanity had to offer, but Morgan would be okay, she had to be oaky.

A few innings into the game, Morgan's body was feeling incredibly stiff from the hard seats; sitting for a long time was getting to be a drastic feat for Morgan though and it wasn't until the sixth inning that Morgan was really starting to feel the wear and tear on her body. Her legs ached something awful and she was starting to feel a little off kilter, but it was worth the pain to watch the Yankees play their hearts out, hopefully coming out with the win that they so desperately deserved.

"God damn, I totally didn't think sitting down in the stands would be this hard on me." Morgan mumbled and let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm so freaking _huge_ , and so freaking uncomfortable."

"Oh the joys of being pregnant." Riley remarked with a teasing smile.

"Yeah." Morgan let out a sigh and ran her palm across her lower abdomen.

"Hey, don't get mad at me because you're super fertile, or that your husband has very potent sperm."

"Shut your face." Morgan growled and Riley shook her head in retreat. She offered Morgan up a reassuring smile and Morgan let out a sigh at the gesture. Okay, so maybe Riley had a point, it wasn't _her_ fault that she had gotten pregnant so quickly after deciding that she wanted to try to have a baby. "I guess I just didn't think being pregnant would be _this_ hard, he moves all the time and it's so uncomfortable."

"I bet." Riley nodded her head in understanding. "Hey, do you uh, do you think maybe you'd let me feel him again?"

"Of course you can." Morgan smiled at her friend and straightened up in her chair, trying to figure out where the best place to feel him would be. She leaned forward and ran her hand over her lower back before cocking her head to the side and furrowing her eyebrows together. Riley shot her a concerned look and Morgan merely let out a soft cry in response. "Ry…I uh, I haven't felt him move since Sonny left this morning now that I think of it."

"That was hours ago." Riley pointed out and readjusted herself in her own seat, taking a few seconds to study her friend up and down.

"I don't…Riley, what if something's wrong with him?" Morgan whimpered. "Riley-"

"Morgan, just…calm down for a second okay, why don't we just get ready and leave, I can drive you to the hospital if you want, to be on the safe side." Riley offered and all Morgan could do was nod her head yes in response as fear flooded through her veins.

She just prayed that her baby would be okay.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

On the case, that's what Sonny was that day, that's what he didn't mind being, especially when Morgan was getting closer and closer to being due. If he had the opportunity to gain as much ground as he could with his job, then that was a good deal in his eyes. He often found himself looking at his phone, hoping for texts from his wife but so far today, there hadn't been a single one. He knew she had gone with Riley to watch the Yankees, and it wasn't like he couldn't text her himself, asking her how she was doing, but he didn't want to disturb her.

He knew that she was going to be in the stands, and her attention would be best kept on the game itself because flying baseballs were dangerous. If she wasn't paying attention, who knew what could happen to Morgan, she could be hit with a ball, or something heftier like a bat- no, he wasn't going to disturb her.

Except that had been ages ago and, glancing at the clock on his laptop, he realized that chances of the game being over were pretty good. He could certainly text her now and see how she was doing.

_'Still busy at work, missing you.'_

Yes, that would do. He set the phone back down and turned his attention back to the case file in front of him. A few minutes later, there was still no response from Morgan. Well that was a little bit odd; usually she was really good at responding to him quickly, especially if she wasn't at work, which he knew she wasn't.

So what did that mean? Sure the two of them could've gotten a little distracted, maybe Morgan had decided to go for food after the game with Riley, but in his gut, he knew it had been way too long since Sonny had heard from Morgan, and he was getting more anxious by the second. What if something happened to her, what if something happened to his baby?

Standing up from his desk, he left his office and wandered down the hallway, closing in on Peter's door. Knocking, Sonny waited to be beckoned inside before doing so, moving to sit in the chair in front of his desk. Maybe he could enlist the man's help in figuring out if Morgan was okay, at least then he'd feel a little better.

"Have you heard from Riley recently?" Sonny quipped casually and Peter stole a quick glance at him before looking back to the screen of the laptop in front of him.

"Not recently." Peter replied, without giving Sonny too much to work with.

Well that wasn't helpful, not even a little bit- couldn't Peter tell that he was anxious? Couldn't he see that he just needed someone to make him feel better about not hearing from Morgan?

Okay, well, considering when he had sat down, he had been going for casual, maybe this was his fault. He could've blatantly asked Peter for help, or for reassurance. If he had mentioned not hearing from Morgan and being a little worried about her, surely Peter would tell him that all was probably fine.

But he hadn't mentioned anything. He hadn't said a word.

Leaning forward, Sonny moved his elbows to rest on the edge of Peter's desk before blowing out a long sigh. Peter turned his attention towards Sonny and stared at him, confusion etched on his face.

"You seem miffed." Peter stated and lifted a hand up, waving it in Sonny's face. "What's up?"

"Miffed sounds like some weird sex move." Sonny mumbled before shaking his head and focusing on the task at hand. "Speaking of sex moves, where's Riley tonight?"

"Yankees game" Peter seemed even more confused than mere seconds ago. Sonny had known that, unless maybe he forgot.

"After that? It should be over by now." Sonny pointed out and watched carefully as Peter stole a look at his watch, leaning back in his chair as he let out a sigh.

"Did you check to see if maybe it went long?" Peter offered up and Sonny shook his head no.

Without having to be asked to do so, Peter pulled up the game stats on his laptop, looking at the final score in bigger font at the very top of the page. If there was a final score, that meant the game was over, so it obviously wasn't still going.

"So?" Sonny questioned.

"It's over. Is there something wrong?" Peter asked and gave his friend and colleague his undivided attention.

"I'm fine, I guess, I'm just…shit, I haven't heard from Morgan in hours and when I texted her, she didn't respond." Sonny threw his one hand into the air and tipped his head back, looking up at the ceiling.

"Maybe they went to get something to eat." Peter offered with a shrug. "There are lots of things they could be doing."

"Mo always texts me back and now she's so close to being due, I'm just worried- what if something's wrong?"

"I'm sure wherever they are, they're fine." Peter stated.

"You're probably right. I guess I just…I worry so much, especially when I'm not at home with her, you know, not that I'm complaining about my job, because I'm definitely _not_ complaining-"

"If you're that worried, I can try calling Ry." Peter suggested. "No big deal."

"Would you really do that?" Sonny's eyes seemed to light up at his offer, as simple as it was. "I mean, that'd be great."

Peter stole one final glance at Sonny and watched him for a few seconds as he tried to relax. Pulling his eyes off of Sonny, he picked up his office phone and dialed Riley's number, cradling the device against his ear and listening to it ring.

Her voicemail kicked in and he debated leaving a message, but it wasn't like he needed her to call him back, so what was the point? He ended the call and set the phone back into the cradle, meeting Sonny's wide, worry filled eyes.

Sonny seemed absolutely frazzled and Peter let out a sigh, debating calling Riley one more time. If she didn't answer this time, he'd actually leave a message and _maybe_ then he'd even try calling Morgan too. He wasn't quite at the same level of freaking out as Sonny but he knew that the man needed answers.

Peter made quick work of dialing Riley's number again, holding the phone back against his ear, praying that she'd answer this time.

When her voice came on the line, he noted that it sounded slightly frantic, but he didn't get a chance to ask her what was going on because she spoke first.

"Oh my god Peter!"

"Hey, whoa, Ry." Peter was taken aback by her tone, wondering why she sounded completely and utterly terrified.

"Peter, _I'm_ scared, Morgan's scared- we're at the hospital and I'm not sure…fuck-"

"Ry, just tell me what you know, okay?"

"She couldn't feel any movement from the baby when we were at the game." Riley stated frantically. "That was a while ago, Peter, I don't know what to do, I don't know what the fuck is going on. Morgan's in some room with a doctor and I'm out in the hallway waiting for someone- _anyone_ \- to tell me what's happening with her."

"Okay, look, I'll let Sonny know, I'll tell him to get there as soon as he can, can you…can you stay with her until he shows up?"

"I uh- yeah. Yeah I can." He heard Riley suck in a breath. "Hurry, please, she needs Sonny, she _needs_ him!"

"We'll both be there as soon as we can, just hang tight."

Waiting, Peter listened for Riley to hang up first and when she did, he practically threw his phone back where it belonged and jumped to his feet. Sonny was standing up too, staring at Peter with wide eyes and not a clue as to what was going on with Morgan.

"Morgan's at the hospital." Peter announced but he kept his voice low and as calm as he possibly could. "Riley took her there a while ago."

"What? Why?" Sonny's eyes bugged out of his head. "Is she okay? Oh shit, is my baby okay?!"

"I don't know, I just know…we have to get there as soon as we can."

Sonny merely gaped at Peter, wondering what the hell was going on and why there wasn't more information available? He had managed to talk to Riley, but apparently, she didn't know much either.

God he just needed to get in the car and rip roar across town to the hospital. He needed to be with Morgan, he needed to make sure she was okay. He wasn't going to be able to do anything other than worry about her until he laid his eyes on his wife.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Morgan was going to be okay, she _had_ to be okay because Riley didn't know what she'd do if her best friend was in any sort of danger. Plus she had the baby to be wary of, he too had to be okay because Riley didn't want Morgan to lose him, and she didn't want to lose Michael either.

There was a panic that hadn't left her body since Morgan had stated that the baby hadn't moved since Sonny left and even though Riley had her own shit to look after, she knew that this was important, way too important, hell, she wasn't going to leave Morgan at the hospital, no matter what.

"Come on." Riley murmured and readjusted her butt against the barely padded seat of the waiting room chair.

Riley let her eyes fall shut and waited, praying that Morgan and the baby were okay. She also prayed that the guys would arrive soon because as much as she loved Morgan, she just wasn't that great in dire situations; she was far too anxious and panicky. Her heart was pounding, her chest felt tight and she tried desperately to remain as calm as possible because Riley was well aware that she wasn't going to be of much help if she freaked out at this point in time.

But when Sonny burst through the doors, Riley felt her entire body relax at the sight. He was here, he was here now and he could be the one to demand answers from the hospital staff. He could announce that he was Morgan's husband and then the people working there would give him all the information that they could, the same information that they refused to give to Riley because she was simply a friend.

Thank the higher powers that Sonny was here, even if he looked like he was about to freak out.

"I'm so sorry, I should've called you earlier but it all happened so fast." Riley remarked, her eyes wide with worry.

"Where is she?" Sonny shot back and before Riley had a chance to answer, Peter jogged through the doors too, stopping to take a stand next to Sonny. "Riley, please tell me she's okay."

"I don't…I don't know Sonny." Riley shook her head and looked down at the floor. "They took her away from me and no one will tell me anything. I don't even know where exactly she is."

"Fuck!" Sonny exclaimed and lifted his hands up into the air, running them through his hair as he stomped across the floor.

Peter brushed past him and moved closer to Riley, taking her into a comforting embrace. He knew that the worry should rightfully be placed on Morgan but Riley was the one he could hold, Riley was the one who was freaking out in front of him, Riley was the one prone to panic attacks and this was certainly cause for a panic attack.

"You need to ask them where she is." Riley instructed and pointed just down the hall, towards a closed off area with a window separating them from the nurses and staff behind. "They won't tell me anything because I'm just a friend, but you're her husband, she's your wife, they _have_ to tell you."

Sonny sucked in an anxious breath and turned in the direction of the window that Riley had pointed too. Without anyone else saying anything more to him, he wandered over and stood patiently in front of it, waiting for the woman behind the glass to acknowledge him. He wasn't going to start off being demanding, no, he was going to start off being polite, after all, he knew that it was easier to get information by being nice, even in dire situations.

At long last, the woman behind the glass lifted her head up and met his eyes. She furrowed her eyebrows together and suddenly Sonny wondered how panicked he really looked. If he was honest though, Sonny didn't care at this exact moment, he just needed to get to Morgan, he needed to be right by her side, no matter what happened.

"I need to see my wife." Sonny stated firmly yet politely and the woman nodded her head in understanding.

"Name?" The nurse requested.

"Morgan Carisi."

"Carisi…okay, yeah, she's the one who came in claiming that couldn't feel her baby moving. She's right down the hall, first room on the left." The nurse answered him before he could ask anything more.

Sonny bowed his head and took in a deep breath, praying that she was okay, "what's going on with her?"

"Unfortunately, I can't divulge that information to you but as far as I'm aware, the doctor is in speaking with her right this very second. If you're quick, you can join the conversation."

Sonny turned back towards his friends and when Riley waved him forward, he shot her a smile and broke out into a jog, heading down the hall and taking a turn into the first room on the left.

As soon as he was inside, his eyes landed on Morgan, who was lying down on a hospital bed wearing one of the flimsy paper hospital gowns, the doctor within the room talking to her softly. She was hooked up to all sorts of machines and a steady rhythm of beeping noises echoed in the room. Once she looked his way though, all conversation seemed to stop and the tears instantly welled up in her eyes, sending Sonny's heart into overdrive.

Was she crying because they had lost their baby, had something happened to his child in the hours since he had last laid eyes on her? Was something wrong with her?

"Mo." Sonny whispered and moved closer to her, enveloping her into his arms and hugging her tight as the female doctor took a step back, allowing him easy access to Morgan. "I'm so sorry Morgan."

"It's okay." She mumbled in response and hugged him right back, feeling the tiniest bit better by his sheer presence in the room. "I'm okay, right doc?"

Sonny turned his head towards the doctor but didn't let go of Morgan, instead, he settled his butt onto the edge of the bed and slipped an arm around her shoulders, letting her know that he was right there and he wasn't going to be going anywhere.

"Yes, Morgan here is fine, your baby is fine but just to be on the safe side, we're going to run a few more tests and potentially keep her here overnight. She's far enough along that if we have to, we can induce labour or proceed with a C-Section." The doctor explained with a soft smile on her face. "We just want to make sure that we haven't missed anything."

"Oh thank god." Sonny breathed the words out and let his head fall gently onto Morgan's shoulder. She reached her hand out and ran her palm over the top of his thigh, giving his flesh a reassuring squeeze as she did so. "Thank god."

"Unless you have any further questions, I'll leave you two alone for a little while and someone will be back to get you prepared for the next test." The doctor stated and Morgan nodded her understanding before Sonny followed suit.

The doctor made a move to leave the room and pulled the door shut behind her, closing them in and allowing them the privacy they deserved. Morgan turned to face him and immediately felt his lips pressing against her forehead, a gesture that she was grateful for, seeing as she had been all alone since Riley had brought her in to the hospital.

"Riley's scared shitless out there." Sonny said softly and ran his hand through Morgan's hair, his fingertips brushing over her scalp in what he was hoping was a comforting gesture. "You've even got Stone waiting for you, wanting to know if you're okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah really." Sonny nodded and buried his nose in her hair, taking a deep inhale of her scent. "They're so worried about you. I called you and texted you after I thought the game was over and you didn't respond. I might've had a bit of a freak out too. You can ask Peter about it. He called Riley though and she _finally_ told us where you two were."

"I'm sorry Sonny Bunny." She murmured, and that was all that he needed to hear. He didn't blame her but he _had_ been worried sick about her.

Morgan curled into his hold further and let her eyes fall shut. She was okay, their baby was still with then and Sonny was right by her side. When he tightened his grip on her, she felt her body relax even more, her mind drifting away slightly, guilty about how anxious he could've possibly been when she didn't respond.

"Why don't you let me go send them home and then I'll come right back to you, okay? Or did you want them to stay?" Sonny quipped and Morgan let out a soft hum as she considered his offer.

"I think you can tell them they can go home, and that I'm alright. I'm sure Riley wants to get out of the hospital, and I've got you here now, you're not going to leave me." Morgan stated but opened her eyes, peering at him before raising one eyebrow, "Right?"

"No Mo, I'm not going to leave you." Sonny murmured in response. "I'll be right back though, I promise."

"Okay."

Reluctantly, and with much difficulty, Sonny peeled himself away from Morgan and slowly made his way out of the room, pausing in the door to steal one more glance back at her. She forced a smile onto her face and waved him off, watching until she could no longer see him.

Once Sonny was back out in the hallway, he let out a sigh of relief knowing that Morgan was okay and that their baby was okay too. He carried on towards the waiting room and came to a stop in front of the duo, who were both sitting in the chairs waiting for any sort of information. Peter was holding Riley's hand and she was leaning in towards the chair he was occupying, her head against his shoulder.

"She okay?" Riley asked immediately and kept her eyes locked on Sonny.

"She's good." Sonny nodded. "They're keeping her to run some tests but they're thinking everything's good."

"Even the baby?" Riley pressed and sat up straight in her chair, fearful of what the answer was going to be. The baby _had_ to be okay, she didn't know what she'd do if Michael was in danger. "Is he okay too?"

"So far, yeah." Sonny said softly. "She told me that I could tell you guys you can go home if you want, if anything happens, I'll call you and let you know."

"Sonny, she's my best friend-"

"Maybe he's right." Peter cut Riley off and fixed her with a pointed look. "If Morgan's okay, let me take you home to somewhere more comfortable. We don't need to spend hours sitting in a hospital waiting room if she's fine."

"It's okay Riley, I've got this." Sonny stated, confidence evident in his tone. "She's my wife; I can take care of her."

Riley took her bottom lip in between her teeth and considered his statement. God she figured it was time for her to let him take the lead and protect Morgan the way she had been for years. He _was_ her husband after all, Sonny deserved to be the one looking out for Morgan.

If anyone was capable of looking after Morgan, it was certainly Sonny. Riley trusted him, he was good for Morgan, he treated her well, he looked after her, he protected her, and he was the one who could easily be called Morgan's best friend.

"Yeah, okay. But you call me first okay, you call _me_ if anything changes." Riley instructed and Sonny nodded his understanding. "Take care of her."

"I will."

"And take care of yourself too. If you need me to bring _you_ anything, like a clean change of clothes for her or you, you just let me know." Riley pointed out.

"Got it Ry." Sonny smiled at her and Riley couldn't help but smile back at him. "Don't worry, she's in good hands."

"Ha, yours or the doctor's?" Riley forced a chuckle.

Sonny didn't wait for them to leave the waiting room before he made his way back in to see Morgan. When he wandered through the door, he immediately stepped over and sat down on the bed next to her, letting her get comfortable against him. He held her and felt her body relaxing against his, hoping that everything was going to be okay. Until she was out of the hospital, and in the comfort of their home, then he wasn't going to be taking any chances.

"Mmm, I love you Sonny." She murmured and nuzzled her nose into his neck.

"I love you too Morgan. You really scared me today. You always text me back, and when you didn't…I just got so worried. I didn't know what to think Morgan, I just…I didn't want anything bad to have happened to you."

"It didn't." She said softly but didn't meet his eyes. "I'm okay, the baby is okay, everything's going to be fine."

"I wish I knew how you can be so confident." Sonny shook his head. "You're my world Mo, I want to do right by you, forever and always."

"You already have Sonny, don't you see that?" She tipped her head back and popped her one eye open, looking at him with it. "You're the love of my life, you've made me so happy. The baby gave me quite a scare too, but it's good now, _we're_ good now."

"Okay."

"Okay." She closed her eyes and settled in, slipping her hand around his arm. "Do me a favour, just lay here with me until my next test, I want you to hold me, it makes me feel safe."

"I can do that." He nodded his head once with a smile. "I can definitely do _that_."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Are _you_ okay?" Riley posed, standing at the front door of her house. Peter was right in front of her, not making a move to take off his jacket. She peered at him and wondered what he was thinking, what had him so distracted that he wasn't getting ready to join her without his jacket?

"Yeah, I'm good, sorry. I think I'm just going to head back to the hospital." Peter answered and looked Riley over, trying to figure out how she felt about him doing just that. "I think it'd be good for Sonny to have someone there for him for a little while longer."

"Sounds like a good idea, I should go back with you, I don't even know why we left." Riley posed but Peter was quick shake his head at her. "What do you mean no, she's my best friend, I was the one who took her there to start with-"

"You just stay here."

"Peter-"

"I'm just going to take him some clothes, maybe stop for some food."

Riley looked at him and gave him a firm nod of understanding. In all honesty she was sort of tired from being at the Yankees game most of the evening, plus being home was definitely better for her anxiety. Hospitals tended to make her nervous, more so than normal, and there was nothing better than being able to curl up in her own bed, even if she knew she'd struggle to sleep until Morgan was out of the hospital, safe and sound in her own home.

"If you're sure." Riley pressed. "Because I can definitely go with you."

"I can handle this." Peter gave her a little smile and Riley forced one back at him. "I'll be back soon."

"Right." She let out a sigh but reached out and grabbed his hand, holding him in place for a little longer. "If you need anything, just call me okay? Or if anything changes, please let me know?"

"I will, I'll be back-"

"I know." Riley cut him off with a smile. "I'll keep your spot in bed warm."

"Thanks." Peter bowed his head, letting out a chuckle, and then turned towards the door, pulling it open the slightest little bit before pausing and looking back over his shoulder at her. She remained still, standing, waiting for him to leave, but she wasn't rushing him out of there, no, in all likelihood, she was probably waiting for him to say that he changed his mind and that she was welcome to come with him. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah." Riley murmured and reached a hand out, running it down his arm. "I love you."

"I know." He smiled at her and she smiled back at him. "I love you too."

Riley pressed her lips together but didn't say anything more to him. Peter hesitated for a split second but pulled the door open the rest of the way and walked outside, waiting to hear the door click shut behind him. It wasn't until he was about halfway to the driveway before he heard the familiar click and a flood of relief traveled through him.

He was scared for his best friend and his wife, he was anxious that things weren't as fine as they claimed to be and he knew that he wasn't going to be resting easy at his place, so the least he could do was take them some clothes and food because if Sonny was going to be spending the night at the hospital, he didn't need to be doing it in a suit.

Yes, Sonny, his best friend, he was the reason why his mind was running a mile a minute. His baby had been in danger and the idea of losing him must have driven Sonny mad, to the point where he had wandered into Peter's office asking about Riley. Peter certainly couldn't picture how he would've reacted had Riley been in Morgan's position.

She was everything to him and he couldn't even fathom the idea of doing what Sonny was doing: staying next to Morgan and assuring her that he was right there with her. Bad things happened to good people, so how was it that Sonny _knew_ that things were going to be okay, how did he know that their baby was going to make it into the world unscathed?

The easy answer; he didn't. But Peter didn't understand how Sonny Carisi had been so calm when they had left. If he had been there, and Riley had been in Morgan's position, surely he wouldn't have been able to keep it together as well as Sonny had, especially not with her infertility issues.

Maybe Sonny just had faith that things would turn out for the better, maybe he truly believed that bad things weren't going to happen to his unborn child.

On the drive over to Sonny and Morgan's place, Peter's mind had drifted to the possibility of having his own baby one day and dealing with complications like Morgan was currently doing. He couldn't…he just didn't understand where this sudden immense fear had come from? Riley and him had been trying for a while now with no results, but was she prepared to go further than in vitro? Would she desire kids bad enough to try something more? There was a fear inside of him, gripping his gut and twisting it hard.

Was this what it was going to be like for years to come?

"The hell is wrong with me." Peter muttered with a shake of his head as he finally made it in the front door of Sonny's home.

It had certainly been a long day and Peter's was far from over, him and Sonny had been in the middle of putting together a big case before they had rushed to the hospital and now here he was, alone in Sonny's house, gathering up some clothes so that he could head right back to the hospital to be there for his friend.

Sonny needed him, and if he didn't realize that, then, well, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He should be focused on Morgan, his attention should be undivided and Peter was merely going to show back up and be available if Sonny decided that he needed something. He cared about Morgan too, she was another of his good friends, and the thought of something bad happening to her or her baby just made his heart sink.

He set to work on finding a shirt and pants that Sonny wouldn't mind wearing for the night. He knew that eventually Sonny was going to want to change out of his suit, this was the least he could do for Sonny, who was his friend and also his right-hand man at work.

Bringing them to Sonny would help him out, and Peter was well aware that he had to grab some sort of food for his friend as well. For all the times that Sonny had been there for him (whether for personal or professional reasons), he knew now was the time to repay him as best as he could.

With an overnight bag loaded with clean clothes, as well as some sandwiches he had picked up from the deli just down the street from the hospital, Peter wandered back into the front doors of the hospital and made his way to the desk. He leaned against the wall next to the window, waiting patiently for the nurse to get off the phone, and when she hung up, her eyes locked on him.

"What can I do to help you?"

"I'm looking for Morgan Carisi's room." Peter answered calmly.

"Oh, hang on." She trailed off and her eyes moved from him back down to her computer.

"Thanks." Peter said.

"Right, yes…I'll just go see if she's accepting visitors." the nurse dropped her head, stood up from the desk and took off in a jog, disappearing down the hall. Peter watched her go and made a mental note which door she turned into, hoping that things hadn't changed much for the worse since he had left not all that long ago.

Before the nurse had a chance to come back out though, Sonny burst through the door and ran for him, stopping only a few feet in front of him and looking him over, scanning him from head to toe.

"You came back." Sonny pointed out with a knowing look. "But why did you… _why_?"

"Figured you could use a friend." Peter offered with a shrug. "And some food."

Lifting the small overnight bag upwards, he handed it over to Sonny, who immediately unzipped the top of it and looked inside, spotting the clothes he had brought for him. When Sonny looked at Peter again, he offered him the bag containing sandwiches. Sonny looked at Peter and forced a smile onto his face.

"Thanks man."

"No problem." Peter shook his head and glanced back behind Sonny, watching as the nurse from behind the desk casually walked out of Morgan's room and headed back for her chair. "How's Morgan?"

"Well uh…" Sonny let his sentence fade away and he shook his head, "the baby's good, apparently, but the doctor wants to deliver just to be on the safe side."

"What?"

"Yeah, she's going in for a C-Section in a little bit, they're just waiting for the operating room to be free."

"Oh wow. I guess as long as the baby's okay right?" Peter forced a smile onto his face, hoping to help soothe his friend. Sonny merely looked at him, smiling back at him.

"Oh yeah." Sonny nodded his understanding, and even produced a bit of a laugh. "So long as my boy's okay."

"I'm here for both of you, if you need _anything_ , you just let me know."

"Thanks man."

"No worries." Peter shook his head. "That's what friends are for."

"Seriously though, I appreciate it." Sonny nodded his head again and turned slightly to catch a look at the door to Morgan's room. "I'm going to go back to Morgan though, if that's okay."

"That's okay." Peter continued to smile. "I told Ry I'd be back home soon. Good luck."

Sonny dropped his gaze down to his feet and when he brought his eyes back up, Peter set his hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. He had to have faith that everything would be okay, he had to be the one supporting Sonny at this point, he knew that this was a scary time for both Sonny and Morgan, and he was going to do anything that he could to make it easier for them.

"You're a good friend Stone." Sonny sucked in a breath and hiked his thumb in the direction of Morgan's room. Peter didn't say another word and neither did Sonny, there were no words that needed to be said, he was there for him, whatever Sonny needed, and Sonny knew that.

What else was there to do? The answer was simply nothing.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

When her eyes looked at the red numbers on the alarm clock, she fought off the urge to groan. It wasn't quite three in the morning and Riley found herself awake, and not because of Morgan's predicament, no, this was purely her own fault.

Leaning back, she felt Peter's chest against her shoulders and his hand resting softly on her hip, and suddenly all she could think about was going to the bathroom; she really, _really_ needed to pee. Carefully rolling onto her back, she shimmied to the edge of the bed and set her feet on the ground, flipping the switch on the lamp beside her bed so that she had a little bit of light to see her surroundings.

"Stupid bladder." Riley murmured and hesitated for another couple of seconds at the side of the bed before carrying on towards the bathroom. Her mind flitted to poor Morgan, who was still in the hospital awaiting a C-Section, and Riley couldn't help but feel a bit scared and worried for her best friend.

She headed for the bathroom with a heavy sigh, did what she had to do, splashed some water on her face in an attempt to rid herself of the grime from sleeping, and then headed right back to her bedroom. She silently prayed that Morgan, _and_ the baby, were going to be okay- Riley shook her head, of course they'd be okay. Morgan was a fighter, and she had Sonny there with her, she'd _be_ fine, she had to be fine.

With a deep breath, she turned her attention to the sleeping man in the bed.

Peter hadn't moved at all since she had gotten up to go to the bathroom and at the prospect of getting back into bed without waking him up, she sucked in an anxious breath and prayed that he was tired enough to remain out cold. Riley lowered herself down and sat on the edge of the bed before tucking her legs under the covers and shifting onto her side, stopping her movements as her back came into contact with his chest yet again.

When his arm came around her waist, she let out an uneasy breath and relaxed into the pillow, then she reached out and made a move to turn the lamp back off. Once the room was pitch black again, Riley tried to stop her brain, she tried to shut off her thoughts, but no matter what she did, she couldn't calm down enough to get comfortable.

As much as she didn't want to move, for fear that she'd wake Peter up, she had to, she had to at least try to get more comfortable next to him. Riley arched her back, shifted her hips and when her backside rubbed against his thigh, she bit down on her lip and considered her options. If she was going to wake him up, hell, she could at least make it worth his while, right?

And maybe if he was a decent enough distraction, then she'd be able to turn her mind off, maybe he could _help_ her get back to sleep.

She carefully stretched out her leg and ran her toe up his shin, but he didn't move. She leaned against him harder and twisted her hips the tiniest bit, his limp arm moving as she did, his hand getting closer and closer to her inner thighs.

"The fuck am I doing?" Riley whispered and without hesitating, she reached down with her hand and gripped his wrist, giving it a gentle squeeze and guiding his hand upwards, forcing his palm under her shirt.

"Ry…" He whispered and tried to fight against her, slipping his arm around her middle, tucking his hand under her body instead. She fought off the urge to growl at his lack of cooperation but when she felt him press a kiss to the side of her neck, she found herself thinking that maybe he wasn't completely rejecting the idea after all. "What time is it?"

"After three." She answered and tipped her head back, his arm tightening around her middle. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Hmm, liar." He mumbled and buried his face into the crook of her neck. "You should go to sleep though."

"I know." She sighed. "You're right."

He let out a chuckle at her in response and shifted behind her, pulling her entire body closer to him. Riley relaxed in his hold and felt him drifting off behind her, his arm loosening as he fell asleep.

She tried and tried to fall asleep, she kept her eyes shut and tried to think of good thoughts so that she wouldn't be distracted by all the fears and anxieties she had building up inside of her over her own situation, over Morgan's situation, over not knowing what was going on. It was no use though, there was too much weighing on her mind and at this point in time, she'd even be content with her phone breaking out into a ring, at least it would give her something to do instead of failing to fall back asleep.

But her phone never rang and Riley could feel her heart starting to pound. She didn't know what to do, she didn't know how to make sure Peter was happy with her. She didn't want him to leave her, but she knew that if he did, she wouldn't blame him, and even though there was so much other stuff on her mind, she knew that this particular issue was bothering her the most.

God, why did things have to be so complicated? Why couldn't she just get pregnant and the two of them could live happily ever after without having to resort to clinical methods?

Why couldn't Morgan have been perfectly fine and not in the hospital at that very moment?

Sucking in a breath, Riley moved out of his grasp and sat up in the bed, drawing her knees up closer to her chest and resting her hands on her knees. Peter was quick to wake up and when he reached back behind him and flipped the lamp on his side of the bed on, he rolled onto his back and ran his hands through his hair. Riley rubbed at her eyes and carded her fingers through her own hair, not entirely sure what her deal was.

Okay, well that wasn't entirely true, she knew what her deal was, she was scared, she was nervous and she wasn't sure how to breach the subject with Peter. It wasn't like she could bother Morgan either, no, she was in the hospital with her own issues to deal with.

"What's wrong?" Peter questioned and propped himself up on his elbow, looking up at her. She didn't meet his gaze though, instead, she looked across the room and locked her eyes on the door to their bedroom. "Ry?"

"I don't know." She sighed and dropped her knees down to the bed. "I've got a billion things running through my head and I just…fuck Peter, I'm scared."

"Scared?" He sounded confused and when she dared to look at him, she realized that he had a perplexed look on his face. "Of what? For Morgan?"

"Well…" Riley trailed off and turned to face him, reluctantly leaning down and pressing her hand against his chest. "Morgan, god, I don't know what to think. She must be freaked out so bad…and yes, that's scary but not really, she's at the hospital, she's in good hands, plus Sonny's there with her."

"Ry, 'not really'? It's the middle of the night, you're going to have to explain this to me in really simple terms because if you're not upset over Morgan then I don't know what you're upset about." Peter remarked and she dropped her body down to lay in front of him, pressing her forehead against his shoulder and sucking in a deep, hopefully calming breath.

"What if you leave me?" She asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Leave you? What- like now? Just because you can't sleep doesn't mean that I'm going to leave you."

"No, not now Peter, in the future. What if you get tired of me not being able to have kids?" She pressed and tipped her head back, meeting his eyes. "What if you decide that I'm too complicated for you? It's different for Sonny and Morgan, they're married, he's going to be the father of her children, but you…god you're just…"

"What?" He narrowed her eyes in on her and she let out a growl of frustration. "Riley, are you really talking about this in the middle of the night?"

"I can't _stop_ thinking about this stuff Peter." Riley confessed. "I want you to be happy-"

"I am, with you." He cut her off and let his eyes fall shut for a minute while he clearly tried to compose himself. "Riley, I'm not going to leave you because you can't have kids."

"What if I never have kids though? What if I can't ever get pregnant?" Riley quipped.

Peter let out a low sigh and opened his eyes, meeting hers and feeling his stomach dropping at the sight of tears welling up there. He knew that Riley had always planned on having kids, but surely she didn't blame herself for the situation she was in now. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't have kids. Maybe one day she'd be okay with the idea of not being able to conceive naturally, but was that really something that _he_ could deal with?

He was still young, and so was she, but did the idea of not having kids of his own sit well with him?

"I'm not sure what you want me to say here." Peter answered honestly.

"I don't know either. I'm just scared that one day you'll get frustrated with me and decide that you've had enough and take off."

"Riley, you have nothing to worry about okay, I'm not going anywhere."

"But what about later? What about years down the road when all you want is to have a kid of your own and I can't give that to you?"

"I don't know Ry, I do know that I love you, no matter what." Peter countered. "Do we have to figure things out right now? It's really late…"

"No." She shook her head with a squeak. "No we don't have to figure it out now."

Peter drew her closer to him and pressed a kiss against the top of her head. If this was his attempt at soothing her, it wasn't working, no, it only seemed to make Riley tense even more. She hated that they had been trying for so long to have a baby and nothing was working, she didn't even know what the next step was because to her, it felt more like giving up than moving on.

Surrogacy, adoption; sure but it wasn't the same as getting pregnant.

She just wanted to have a baby of her own.

"I don't want you to resent me." Riley apparently had a _lot_ on her mind, but then again, it wasn't like Peter wasn't familiar with her habit of worrying. She had anxiety issues, the first night she had spent with him she had a full-blown panic attack. He was used to her nerves getting the better of her.

"Resent you for something that you have _no_ control over?" He pressed. "I want _you_ , I don't care about the other stuff."

"Seriously? You can't tell me that thirty years from now when we're still childless-"

"I want you." Peter cut her off. "There's other options, I just don't think that three in the morning is a good time to talk about them."

"No." Riley murmured.

"So can we please just go back to sleep and talk about this in the morning, when I'm functioning like a normal human being?" Peter teased and a smirk broke out on his face. She rolled her eyes at him and pressed her palm against his chest. "Riley, seriously, if I didn't want to be with you, I never would've said that I love you, because it's true, I do."

"I love you too." She said and let out another sigh. "I just…"

"It's okay to be scared, life is terrifying sometimes." Peter supplied. "Do you think maybe you could try to sleep now or do you want to keep talking, because I know that once you get something in your head, it doesn't just go away. So if there's something else on your mind- maybe Morgan, then we can keep talking."

She tipped her head sideways and gave him a nod, "I think I could try sleeping, I mean, unless you want to try _something_ else."

His eyes widened and she arched her back, pressing her hips against his. Huh, well, if this was going to be how he was rewarded for dealing with her middle of the night freak-outs, then maybe he'd be more willing to talk to her the next time, maybe they could skip the conversation and get right to sex.

"I really do love you." She purred and all Peter could do in response was kiss her, long and hard.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Sonny felt peaceful, that was the best way to describe it, he felt absolutely peaceful while Morgan slept in the hospital bed beside him. When Sonny had disappeared into Morgan's room earlier, leaving Peter all alone in the waiting room, he hadn't expected the wonderful news that his baby was delivered safely to happen so fast.

Their baby was residing in a bassinet inside Morgan's room beside the bed and every time Sonny moved within the room, his eyes were immediately drawn to the tiny little baby boy, who had arrived quite a few weeks.

"He's perfect." Sonny murmured and wandered along the bed where Morgan was laying, half asleep. "He's got ten fingers, ten toes, two of whatever else he's supposed to have. Basically everything is in the right place."

"He's so beautiful." Morgan remarked, her voice soft and hushed so as not to disrupt the slumbering baby. She was feeling pretty exhausted, rightfully so seeing as she had recently been wheeled back into the room after her C-Section. "We got lucky with him."

"I got lucky with you too." Sonny pointed out and waved a dismissive hand in Morgan's direction. "I can't believe you willingly reproduced with me, you know? I don't- I never really considered myself great father material but with you…you and Michael are everything to me."

Morgan nodded her head, not entirely sure what else she could say to Sonny, or what she wanted to say. It was clear that he was in a state of pure bliss now that her _and_ Michael were safe and sound, but Morgan knew that would soon wear off and maybe Sonny could avoid the period where he'd ask himself 'what if' questions until he made himself crazy.

Morgan did that very thing herself sometimes: what if Riley hadn't won the bet all that time ago, what if she hadn't transferred from narcotics, what if she and Sonny never got over the time when she had professed she had feelings for him and he had his sister in the apartment, what if she hadn't been able to get pregnant like Riley…the list went on and on.

Sonny's 'what ifs' would be more along the lines of: what if something bad had happened to Morgan, what if he had lost his son, what if he had lost Morgan but _not_ the baby. Oh yes, his list of 'what ifs' was definitely a lot more traumatic than Morgan's, but he knew that no matter what, that was the thing that would drive a man to insanity; the constant 'what ifs' running through his head.

He couldn't do that to himself. She was fine, Michael was fine, they were both going to be okay.

"Mo, can I run something by you?" Sonny spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. Morgan, who had been staring at their son, peeled her eyes off the baby boy just long enough to meet her husband's gaze, but then she turned her attention right back to tiny baby Michael Anthony Carisis.

"Always."

"Mo, what do you think about asking Peter and Riley to be the god parents?" Sonny said softly. "If something happens to us, and then my mom and your parents, I think Michael should fall into the hands of Riley and Peter."

Morgan peered at him and thought about his statement for a few seconds. It _was_ a pretty lengthy list but it sounded alright to her. She definitely didn't want her child to wind up with Gina or Theresa if something, god forbid, happened to her or Sonny. His mother would do a great job, and her parents would be _okay_ at it, but after that, Riley would be a great choice.

"I think that's a great idea." Morgan stated and cocked her head sideways. "Huh."

"What?" Sonny quipped, watching Morgan carefully, but when she broke out into a smile, he rolled his eyes.

"Peter's going to be a godfather." Morgan snorted. "I just picture him running the Italian mob and wearing a fancy suit."

"Mo." Sonny groaned. "Not that type of godfather."

"I know." Morgan stuck her tongue out at him. "Still funny though."

"I think you need some rest." Sonny teased but Morgan was quick to lay down flat on the bed. She _was_ tired, exhausted even, but the fact of the matter was that she now had a baby of her very own, a little boy who she never wanted to stop looking at.

He was too beautiful, perfect in every sense of the word, and she didn't want to miss a single second with him.

"You have to call Riley." Morgan blurted out. "Does she know?"

Sonny gave a shake of his head and looked to Morgan, watching as she pulled the blanket up higher and letting it fall against her waist. He blew out a breath and continued to look at her as she reached over to the table next to the bed and grabbed her phone, immediately handing it to him.

"You want me to call her now?" Sonny gaped. "Mo the sun hasn't even come up."

"So?" Morgan fired back. "Please, just call her, for me?"

Sonny gave in to her request and dialed Riley's number, lifting the device up to his ear. He wandered towards the door and out into the hallway so as not to wake Michael with his phone call. When the phone began ringing, Sonny wasn't sure what he was expecting but for her to pick up on the second ring wasn't it.

Riley was quick to answer, too quick for her to have been asleep when he called. Oh well, she had answered and that was all that mattered.

"Mo?"

Oh right, Morgan had handed him her phone, that's what he was using to call her at that very moment.

"No it's me."

"Sonny, hey." Riley let out a sigh on her end of the phone and Sonny fought back the urge to smile. He was a dad, he had a son, and this was the moment that he got to share that information with someone else.

"She had the baby." Sonny stated, amazement lacing his tone.

"Oh my god!" Riley shrieked, so loudly that Sonny moved the phone away from his ear for a few seconds. When he put it back against his ear, he could hear a lot of commotion on Riley's end of the line. "Sonny! That's great!"

"Yeah." Sonny breathed the word out, still in a state of shock at the fact that he was someone's father. "It's pretty great."

"Can I come- is Morgan- I'm coming there."

"Yes." Sonny chuckled at her stammering. "Sounds like a great idea."

Riley hung up the phone, leaving Sonny standing in the hallway feeling full of love. He took another second for himself before heading right back into Morgan's room, moving to stand by the bassinet next to her bed. Michael was making grunting noises, so Sonny quickly reached in and freed the baby from the bassinet, handing him over to Morgan, who took him eagerly.

"I can't believe he's really ours." Morgan whispered.

"I know Mo." Sonny agreed. "It doesn't feel real."

"Well it _is_." Morgan grinned. "You should call your mom too. And Audrey- oh and Bella. Shit and Liv and-"

"Mo, we'll get there okay, maybe when the sun's actually up we can call all these people, how's that sound?"

Bowing her head, she acquiesced, and remained silent, merely staring at her little tiny baby boy. Michael Anthony Carisi, god he was so small, his skin so soft, and his entire being made her feel happiness that she had never once felt before in her life. Her heart was full and she knew there was nothing in the world that she would ever love more than the baby in her arms.

The two of them simply sat there in silence, both parents watching their new baby. It was such a wonder, such a miracle that the two of them had created such an impeccable little human.

Morgan found herself feeling the exhaustion of the entire day rush through her and she reluctantly handed baby Michael over to Sonny, who gladly took him into his hold. It was at that moment that Riley's form appeared in the doorway wearing clothes that looked an awful lot like pajamas, or something that she'd wear on the weekends when she wanted to be comfortable.

"Is that…" Riley whispered, trailing off and looking at the bundle in Sonny's hold.

"Come in and meet Michael." Morgan whispered back, waving her forward.

Riley closed in on her best friend and took a seat on Morgan's other side, opposite from Sonny. She looked down at the baby in Sonny's hold and felt her eyes filling with tears. When she met Morgan's eyes, she took note that her best friend was nearly crying too and before they could stop it, both females started to cry.

Riley slipped her arm around Morgan's shoulders and hugged her tight, trying to soothe her. She could only imagine how totally overwhelming it was to be a new mother and Morgan hadn't even been expecting Michael to come into the world today. She felt a little bad for Morgan because no matter how much preparation her friend could've done, nothing would've prepared her for the sheer terror she had experienced earlier on when they had been at the Yankees game.

Peter meandered into the room after Riley but hesitated inside the doorway, not wanting to move in and overwhelm Morgan too much. She was already surrounded on both sides, he didn't feel the need to join them and add another person to the mix, not unless Morgan _wanted_ him to.

"He was born via C-Section." Morgan murmured and Riley leaned over, pressing a reassuring kiss against the top of her friend's head. "I had a C-Section, it was really scary there for a while."

"No Mo, that's good, it's so good. So long as your baby is okay, it doesn't matter how he was born." Riley offered up, trying to keep her friend calm. " _And_ so long as _you_ are okay."

"I'm good. I'm fine." Morgan sucked in a nervous breath and held it, trying to keep herself as composed as possible. "I'm glad you made it here though, you too Peter."

"Even if it's still pretty much the middle of the night." Sonny added in and Riley forced a laugh out of her mouth. "Sorry about the timing."

"No worries." Peter shook his head, Morgan looking at him and nodding for him to come on in. He hesitated but moseyed on into the room, taking a seat in the vacant chair next to Morgan's bed. "Riley and I weren't really sleeping anyways."

"I was worried." Riley stated in defense and continued to look at her best friend. "But I should've known that Morgan here was perfectly fine. She's strong, smart _and_ beautiful."

"Thanks Ry." Morgan blushed at her friend's words. "You are too."

Riley felt Morgan relax against her side the tiniest bit and the two of them let out a soft sigh almost simultaneously. Morgan giggled at their matching actions and quickly looked up at Sonny, widening her eyes at him. He stared back at her, wondering what she wanted from him but when her eyes drifted down to Michael, he knew that she wanted her best friend to hold their son.

He offered the baby in his hold over to Riley, who took him without a second thought, Sonny watching carefully as Michael settled into the woman's hold, not even bothered by being passed on.

"So, did you settle on the name?" Peter asked, changing the direction of the conversation to something a bit more exciting.

"Yes, no surprise here. Riley is holding Michael Anthony Carisi." Morgan answered and looked over to Sonny, who smiled wide in agreement.

"Mikey." Riley murmured, gingerly readjusting the baby in her hold, her eyes locked on his tiny little face.

"Yeah, Mikey." Sonny smiled, looking over at his wife, who gave him a nod in response.

"Awe." Riley hummed and kept her eyes trained on the baby in her hold. "He's so cute Mo, so itty bitty and adorable."

"I know." Morgan beamed and blew out a breath. "I freaking know."

Sonny made his way to his feet and wandered closer to Peter, sitting on the edge of the bed near his male friend. Peter peeled his eyes away from Riley holding the baby and looked at Sonny, planting a giant smile on his face.

"We were talking before and we were wondering…" Sonny trailed off, shooting a glance in Morgan's direction before carrying on, "if you two would be his godparents?"

"What?" Riley shot back at him, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "Mo, Sonny…what are…what?"

Morgan took in a deep breath and relaxed slightly against Riley's side, peering down at her slumbering baby's face, "we just thought that you and Peter would be good parents to our baby if something-"

"God forbid." Sonny cut in.

"If something happened to us. Obviously Sonny's mom would be first in line, and then most likely my parents, but after that, he'd be yours and Peter's." Morgan explained. Riley gazed at the baby in her hold and knew that she'd never let anything happen to him if she could help it. This baby was too precious, too perfect, and she'd be honoured to help raise him.

"Of course. It'd be an honour." Peter replied and blew out a low breath. "You know Riley and I would do anything for you two."

"When Sonny first brought up the idea of a Godfather, I just pictured you running the Italian mob." Morgan teased.

"Sexy." Riley beamed, stealing a quick glance at Peter.

"Okay." Peter shook his head with a small smile. "Just for you, I'll get myself a nice Italian suit and take up residence at the most Italian restaurant I can find."

"Okay, but please don't behead any horses." Sonny countered, a smile on his face as well.

"Not really my style." Peter said with another shake of his head.

"Godfather." Riley snorted. "Like Peter would ever be in charge of a mob."

"You're the godmother." Morgan pointed out.

"Like in Cinderella." Riley countered.

"No." Morgan rolled her eyes. "Just godmother, _not_ fairy godmother."

Riley let out a huff, "that's not as fun."

"It's fine." Peter leveled her with a pointed look.

Peter extended his hand out towards Sonny and gave him a rough pat on the back before leaning back in the chair he was occupying. Sonny stole a look back at Morgan and watched as her eyes began to flutter closed, the poor girl still not wanting to give in to sleep. She looked tired, and he knew that she _was_ tired, but she refused to take her eyes off their son.

Before she had a chance to move, or do anything, Sonny quickly stood up, moving over to Riley before gently scooping up their son, the very Michael Anthony, who had been brought into the world earlier that morning. He wandered back over to the chair next to Peter and lowered his butt down, taking a few seconds to get himself situated.

"I can't believe that he's here already." Morgan breathed the words out and Sonny could only nod his head, not entirely trusting his own voice to come out confident.

"I was so scared when you told me you hadn't felt him moving…" Riley trailed off.

"Me too Ry." Morgan whimpered. "Thank god he's okay though."

"And you're okay too." Sonny added in, finding himself feeling like his family would be okay, they could make it through anything that came at them.

With his first born in his hold, Sonny shifted on the chair but decided he wanted to be closer to Morgan before heading back over and sitting down on the bed next to Morgan, carefully readjusting the hold he had on little Michael so that Morgan could see his sleeping face.

"So cute." Morgan whispered and studied her child's face. Sonny took his chance and stole a look at Morgan, who's hair was messed up and her eyes were laced with tiredness, but she had never looked more beautiful to him. She had given him a gorgeous son, who would easily become his whole world.

He'd vow to keep Michael safe from the world and he'd lead him through life, passing on all of his knowledge and any of his skills that he desired. This was his boy, his life, his family, and nothing was going to hurt him, or Morgan, not if he had anything to say about it.

"I still can't believe he's here." Sonny said in a soft tone.

"I know." Morgan nodded her head once but kept her eyes locked on little, tiny baby Michael in his hold.

"He's so small." Riley commented. "It's hard to believe he came out of you."

Morgan smiled at her comment and peered up at Sonny, her mouth opening into a giant yawn as she did so, letting Sonny be the one to speak. "If you're tired Mo, you can go back to sleep, I've got things handled here- _we've_ got things handled here."

"I just want to look at him for a little longer Sonny."

"Totally agree."

Morgan shifted slightly in the bed and ran her hand over Michael's little head, then she pressed a gentle little kiss against the side of his face. Sonny watched the whole thing with a smile on his face. The entire room was silent, watching the little baby command everyone's attention without having to do a thing.

"God I want one so bad." Riley hummed.

"Tell that to your fiancé." Morgan giggled.

Riley snorted at her friend but peered across at Peter, studying him, wondering what he was thinking. She wanted a baby of her own so badly, but things weren't going her way.

Truthfully, Peter wanted it too, but he was more concerned about Riley.

"Come look at him." Morgan called out softly to Peter, who nodded his head yes. He wasn't one hundred percent sure he wanted to interrupt their cute little family moment, but Riley was already in on it.

When Sonny motioned for him to come forward though, Peter looked over at Morgan, who gave him an encouraging nod. He carefully stood up from his chair and stepped over towards the bed, taking a seat on the edge of it and looking down at the peaceful looking face of Morgan's new baby.

"He's beautiful." Peter complimented and Morgan smiled wide at his statement.

"He looks like Mo." Sonny teased. "Thank god for that."

"You mean you're glad that he didn't get your nose?" Morgan joked.

"Can you imagine?" Sonny chuckled.

"What's wrong with his nose?" Riley's voice cut in. "I happen to think it's very fitting on your face."

Sonny froze momentarily, his eyes lifting up from little Michel to meet her eyes. When he met her gaze though, he knew that she was just teasing him, she had meant it as a joke and that's the way he had taken it.

"I'm so excited for him to finally be here." Morgan cooed. "Even if it was a little touch and go there."

Sonny couldn't agree more. He was ecstatic to finally be able to hold his son in his arms; it was just such an amazing feeling.


	30. Chapter 30

The shower at Sonny's mom's house was Morgan's baby shower this time, though it was set up a lot like the one for her wedding, hell, even Barba was attending yet again. Morgan was excited to be able to show off baby Michael to her friends and family, with everyone, including Gina and Theresa, cooing about how simply adorable he was.

And boy was he ever adorable, managing to capture the hearts of everyone at the party, including Sonny's soulless sisters who apparently couldn't get enough of Michael.

So far he was a pretty decent baby. After just a couple of weeks with him at home, Morgan was enjoying her time with him. She didn't really miss work at all and found herself settling into the role of mother rather smoothly. He wasn't a difficult baby, he cried infrequently but the one thing that he didn't do was sleep right through the night. Sonny was a great help when that happened though.

She spent most of the day at home with him, napping when he napped, and Sonny took over the night duties while he was home. It was hard, sure, what new baby wasn't tough to get used to, but the two of them were making it work and there wasn't anything in the world that would change how much she truly loved her new little boy.

Michael was currently residing in Audrey's hold, who was sitting near Sonny's mother, the two of them cooing and playing with his itty-bitty hands, grabbing them and gingerly holding them just to feel his super soft skin. Morgan caught sight of them and felt her heart swell before finding herself wondering if she should've asked Audrey to be a godmother or something.

Her own mother wasn't the greatest to Morgan when she was little, but did that mean she forfeited her right to take care of Michael if something bad did happen to her and Sonny? Would her mother treat Michael the same way she treated Morgan, or would she be a decent mother figure?

Did it really matter? Ugh, this whole thing was so hard to figure out. She didn't even want to think about it anymore because she was so unsure. The odds of something happening to both her _and_ Sonny seemed slim in her mind, and hell, even if something _did_ happen, Sonny's mother had first dibs.

It would be fine, yes, Morgan would just have to convince herself of that. She loved her baby too much to worry about the 'what ifs' of something happening to her or Sonny. She would be around to lead Michael through life, she didn't need to concern herself over whether her own mother could handle taking care of him.

"My mom seems pretty smitten." Riley broke in to Morgan's thoughts as she came to stand beside Morgan, offering her up a glass of blue Kool-Aid, which was part of the 'boy' theme to the baby shower. "I'm glad she gets one grandkid…well sort of…you know what I mean, right?"

"Ry, you can't just give up already. Yeah it's not coming easy to you but that doesn't mean you just throw in the towel." Morgan countered, knowing how much her friend wanted what she had but seeing how hard it was for Riley to acquire. "You and Peter _will_ have a baby."

Riley raised an eyebrow but didn't respond, she wasn't going to let it get to her, not today of all days. She was just so ecstatic that Morgan had a baby of her own and boy howdy was the kid ever adorable. His bright blue eyes clearly came from his father but his cute button nose was all Morgan- thank the heavens above for that.

The kid would be a heartbreaker for sure.

"Did Barba really buy him a three-piece suit?" Riley asked and Morgan's lips curled into a grin at the thought of her son donning the vey suit in question in the coming weeks.

"A navy one." Morgan nodded. "Which he will be sporting at your wedding by the way."

Riley snorted and tried to picture the tiny newborn in a mini version of the groomsmen suits. It was too cute to think of and she hoped that Michael would cooperate on the day of her wedding because she needed that picture real bad, captured on camera to look at for years to come.

"Stylish motherfucker, that Barba." Riley remarked with a shake of her head, glad that Morgan's fancy lawyer friend was smart enough to know what clothes would be way too cute on a baby; a suit being one of the cutest options.

Morgan nodded her head and watched in awe as her mother wandered over and took a seat next to Audrey. Audrey was quick to offer up the baby for Charlotte to hold and when her mother took over cradling her son, she felt her heart swell again. Michael was definitely a charmer, and he was barely a few weeks old.

It was such an odd sight to see, her own mother beaming down at the bundle of joy in her arms, but it was also such a nice sight to see. Morgan hadn't seen her mother smile like that since…well it had been an awfully long time, so long that she couldn't even really remember a time when she _had_ seen her mother so happy. Maybe her mom wasn't completely heartless after all.

At one time, she _had_ been a mother to a baby of her own, and Morgan had turned out okay, even if most of that was credited to Audrey. Then again, she hadn't even met Audrey until she had reached third grade and there weren't a lot of terrible memories before that, not that Morgan could remember. Surely if there were moments bad enough, she would've remembered something. Maybe her mother would be a decent godparent after all, maybe she deserved a chance.

"She'll have his college tuition to Harvard saved up for him." Riley said and Morgan shot her a look of confusion. "You think your kids aren't going to an Ivy League school? Your mom will definitely make sure they do Mo, they've got to live up to her expectations, be the best they can be in a career that she approves of, obviously."

"I never went to an Ivy League school."

"Yeah and how'd that work out for you?" Riley offered her a shrug. "She's going to try her hardest though, so be ready. You might be a lost cause to her but Michael's not."

"Ugh, no Ry, don't say that. I have like eighteen years to get ready for that battle." Morgan huffed. "That's so far away, let's just deal with that if it comes down to it."

" _When_ it comes down to it."

Riley gave her a pat on the arm and wandered off, moving in to take a seat near her mother, leaning against her side while watching Michael wriggling in Charlotte's hold. So far at the shower he hadn't broken out into a wail but Morgan knew the chances were good that at some point Michael would start to cry.

Honestly, she wasn't worried about it, that's what babies did, but she _was_ nervous for how her mother would react to a crying baby. Morgan rolled her shoulders back and headed over to the table of food, which had already been picked over pretty good. She grabbed a handful of crackers and wandered around the yard, thanking her guests for coming and thanking them for the lovely gifts that she had opened earlier.

There was a lot of clothing for Michael but also a lot of other things too. She was simply amazed at how much stuff she had received for her baby, but also incredibly thankful. She even got a tiny pair of Converse All Stars from Riley with a matching tracksuit. The people at her shower were all so generous, a police themed baby toy set had come from Liv and Amanda had given her some cute denim overalls complete with the smallest t-shirts Morgan had ever seen.

Sonny's mother had been generous enough to make Michael a crib quilt, which had been sewn by hand and was utterly gorgeous with its zoo animal theme. In addition to Riley's tracksuit, she had also handed over a stack of books, which wasn't surprising seeing as her friend practically had a library in her house.

Her mother had doled out some cash but also a jolly jumper, incredibly thoughtful on Charlotte's part and the money was nice to have too. Gina and Theresa had gone with a ton of diapers, plus some receiving blankets, bottles and some pacifiers, much nicer than her last shower gift (then again these gifts were for baby Michael and not her).

Bella managed to find some high-quality bibs, a baby blender for baby food and a plush blue rabbit. Audrey had added to the diaper count but had also gone all out and purchased Morgan a very nice looking rocking chair that she would definitely be putting in Michael's room, just as soon as she got it home and put together (Riley had already volunteered to do just that).

Overall it was a successful baby shower and now Morgan was just letting her son be passed around from person to person so that everyone could get a decent look at him.

When she locked her eyes on Barba, who was standing awkwardly near Charlotte, she fought off the urge to laugh as her mother handed the man the baby. Morgan rushed over to join them and fought off the urge to break out into a fit of snickers as Barba held her baby very abnormally yet somehow managing to support the baby's head like he was supposed to.

"Oh my god Rafi, it's a baby." Morgan teased and ran her hand over Michael's baby soft head. "He's not a bomb."

"Well he's sort of a poop bomb." Audrey threw out. "Riley used to poop out the sides of her diapers when she was a baby, god it went everywhere sometimes."

"Seriously mom." Riley glared at her mother, who simply smirked at her in response. "People don't need to know that."

"It's not like you _still_ do it." Audrey shrugged eliciting a bark of laughter from Morgan's mother.

"Morgan used to get it up her back all the time. I had to change her onesie every time I changed her diaper, without fail." Charlotte added with a smile. "It's pretty much how we knew when it was time for a clean one."

"Nope." Barba shook his head and tried desperately to hand the kid off to someone else, but no one was making any movements to take him. "This suit is expensive; I don't want to take any chances."

Morgan snorted at the only man at the party but still refused to take Michael out of his awkward hold. It was too entertaining, Barba was way too amusing, especially when he was holding her baby like he was about to just start spewing poop all over the place. That wasn't how it worked, and plus, diapers had come a long way since Riley and Morgan were babies, surely they held in the shit better than thirty years ago.

"If you cradle him against your chest…" Charlotte offered up but Barba didn't move a muscle, choosing to blatantly ignore the woman's advice.

"He's part Sonny, I certainly don't want that rubbing off on me, or my suit." Barba shook his head.

"Hold him normal for god's sake, he's not going to bite you." Riley rolled her eyes at the man but he leveled her with a glare.

"No way, one second I'm holding this…this tiny human and the next thing I know his DNA will seep into my perfect pores. Then I'm stuffing my face with cannolis while talking with that horrible accent."

"Cannolis are delicious, what do you have against them." Sonny's mom joked. "But the accent is questionable, so I'll give you that."

Riley stepped towards Barba and finally took the kid out of the man's hold, cradling the darling newborn in a more comfortable position. Michael settled in against her chest/shoulder and wiggled ever so slightly before letting out a teeny grunt before his body melted against her, clearly feeling rather cozy in Riley's hold.

"That looks good on you." Charlotte beamed and Riley tensed, not totally sure where this conversation was going. She was just holding a baby, Morgan's baby, so why did it feel like her heart was starting to hammer against her chest? Or that her stomach was starting to knot something awful?

It wasn't like Charlotte knew of her issues, so it wasn't like Riley had any right to be upset. She clearly didn't say it just to bother Riley, to get under her skin, but now she had to figure out a way to respond without having to explain herself, or confess to the woman that she wasn't exactly successful at her attempts at getting pregnant. She didn't want everyone at the party knowing she couldn't have kids, but she also didn't want Charlotte to keep prying.

"Riley's busy planning her wedding." Audrey piped up. "And after that, she plans on spending some time getting used to the idea of marriage before bringing a baby into it."

"Yes, exactly. I want to get to know Peter as my husband first." Riley tossed out, hoping that her statement sounded believable. She didn't think it did but Charlotte didn't really know Riley.

Charlotte opened her mouth to respond but promptly snapped her jaw shut, not wanting to do battle with Audrey, not at her daughter's baby shower. For whatever reason, Morgan figured it was because she was too smitten with Michael, her mother was behaving pretty decently so far and she didn't want that to change. It was like a whole new Charlotte had turned up for the baby shower, and hell, Morgan wasn't about to complain, no, she was going to enjoy it while it lasted because it couldn't last forever, could it?

"Right, well." Morgan trailed off, looking at her baby in Riley's hold. She agreed with her mother though, the baby really did look good on Riley, she just hoped that her friend would get to feel the way Morgan felt now that she was a mother, even if it took her a little longer than she wanted, _and_ involved a lot more effort than she had to put in. "I'm glad you guys could all make it, thank you for all the wonderful gifts."

"Of course." Charlotte beamed. "Anything for my grandson."

"Wow!" Morgan's eyes widened. "You're right, he's your grandson…you're a grandma, is it weird that that's the first time I'm hearing that? It didn't really click until now…my lord mom, you're a grandma."

"That makes me feel old." Audrey threw in with a smile of her own. "Charlotte, can you really believe that you're a grandma?"

Charlotte shook her head no but never once did her smile falter. She apparently liked being a grandma and so far Morgan found that she was doing a pretty decent job at it. She could spoil Michael rotten if she wanted, that's what grandmas did, and honestly, that sounded good to Morgan, so long as Charlotte didn't pull the same shit she pulled with Morgan when she was a child.

"Nonna." Sonny's mother piped up. "I'll be nonna so there's no confusion."

That sounded great to Morgan, it sounded really great. What sounded better was the fact that she was someone's mom.

Michael was going to be so loved, Morgan swore he would. She would look after him, protect him and make sure he knew that she was proud of him, no matter what. Her own mother had shown her what not to do but Audrey had led her in the right direction.

She was going to do right by Michael, whatever it took.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Stretching out under the covers, Riley felt the body next to her and quickly curled into Peter's chest, letting out a soft sigh when his arms came around her, holding her tight. She didn't dare open her eyes, instead, she remained in her bed, basking in the warmth that he provided.

"You staying here all day?" He teased and she groaned before burying herself deeper into his hold. "Come on Ry, aren't you excited?"

She leaned her head back and slowly moved into a sitting position next to him, staring down at him as he remained laying on the bed, his head in the pillows. Running her hands through her hair, she let them fall to her knees, eyes never leaving his.

"Yes, I'm excited, but also terrified."

"Of getting married?" He pressed, suddenly concerned about what she was saying. Over the past few weeks he hadn't heard her mention being scared, but then again, getting cold feet was a common enough occurrence to have a name. Maybe this was normal?

"Oh." Her eyes widened and she quickly shook her head no. "Not of getting married, I can't wait for that part. I just don't like the not knowing, you know? No you probably have no idea…god how do I explain this?"

"You're anxious because you don't know the protocol?" Peter quipped. "I know you Riley."

"You do." She gave him a small smile. "I just wish I wasn't so scared about stupid things, like what happens if I miss my cue or I walk down the aisle too fast- I don't want to embarrass myself-"

"You won't." Peter cut her off and joined her in a sitting position. She scooted closer to him and let him wrap his arm around her middle. "You'll be fine, plus no one will even notice any of that, they'll be too busy looking at how pretty you look."

"Too bad we aren't getting married in a church, I could walk down the aisle while bursting into flames." She tried to tease but he could hear it in her voice still. She was nervous, and he figured no matter what he said, or did, she'd be nervous until it was happening.

When it was happening, she'd just go with the flow and do whatever she needed to do and once it was over, she'd look back on it and wonder why she had worried so much in the first place. It's just what she did. It was the type of person she was.

"I, for one, can't wait to see you in your dress." Peter stated with a smirk of his own.

"And my newest 'fuck me' heels." She countered, moving her legs so they were stretched out in front of her. She flexed her feet and found him watching her wiggle her toes, most likely trying to picture the sexy new heels she had purchased for this specific occasion. "They might end up being _your_ new favourites."

Peter tore his eyes away from her feet and met her gaze, staring at her, wondering what he had done to deserve such a great girl like Riley. She was his perfect match, she knew what buttons to press to get to him (in a good way) and he swore that if he didn't have to be at Sonny's house in an hour, he'd take her back under the covers and have his wicked way with her.

By the look on her face, he figured she wouldn't have been opposed to that either.

"I should get going." He announced, gave her knee a rough, friendly pat, and leapt out of the bed, standing next to it. "I need a shower before I leave."

"Don't say things like that." She chuckled, swinging her own legs over to her side of the bed and planting them on the carpet. "Maybe we could shower one last time as an unmarried couple?"

By the time the two of them were out of the shower and Peter was ready to go, he was pretty close to running late. He had kissed her goodbye in the front hallway, leaving Riley standing there in a pair of sweatpants and his Cubs t-shirt, her hair still wet from their shower.

It wasn't that much longer that Morgan showed up, Bella trailing behind her. Morgan had their dresses with her and Bella was carrying a large bag with Riley's new shoes, which she had insisted on keeping at Morgan's so that she wasn't tempted to show Peter.

A few minutes after Morgan arrived, Audrey pulled into the driveway along with the hair and make-up girl, this time it was just one person, seeing as Riley's bridal party was half the size of Morgan's. Audrey was half ready to go, her make-up was complete and hair was done rather nicely, half pulled back and held in place with a rhinestone barrette, but she wasn't dressed. She carried her dress inside with her, heading in to the living room where the rest of them were settled in on the couch.

The stylist was already working away on Bella's hairstyle, braiding it into a fancy braid crown, a style that Riley adored.

"My baby's getting married!" Audrey exclaimed and rushed over towards Riley, who was lounging on one end of the couch, a grin plastered on her face. When her mother got close enough, she sat up and hugged her tight, feeling so much love from the older woman's embrace. "Ry, have you decided if you're walking yourself down the aisle for sure?"

"You can do it." Riley countered. "I think you _should_ do it."

Audrey broke out into a grin and nodded her head, scared of how her voice would sound if she tried to reply with words. It would be an honour to walk her daughter down the aisle, and she'd love to do it.

"Did you ever hear from your dad?" Morgan piped up, looking over at Riley. "You didn't invite him, right?"

"He's not going to be there." Riley answered. "Much to his dismay."

"You're okay with that?" Morgan turned her attention to Audrey, who merely offered Morgan up a shrug in response. It wasn't really up to Audrey and if Riley didn't want her dad at her wedding, she certainly wasn't going to force her to have him there. "Well I appreciate you inviting my parents."

"At least this way Michael has someone to hang out with while you're busy being my maid of honour." Riley chuckled. "Plus, it's not like Barba would be able to handle him for the length of the ceremony."

"No, he certainly would not." Morgan agreed easily.

Sooner than expected, Bella was done being made up and styled, she vacated her chair, which had been pulled in from the dining room table, and Riley was quick to take her place. She wanted to be made up, she wanted her hair done, she wanted to get dressed and get married because she was that excited to do so.

She hated the idea of waiting but she knew she had to. It didn't matter if she was ready to go beforehand, she was scheduled to get married at a certain time, but it didn't stop her from wanting to be ready to go at any moment. She wanted to spend as much time in her amazing dress as she possibly could.

Audrey excused herself and disappeared from the living room, Morgan starting a conversation with Bella, who had grown decently close to Morgan and Riley in recent weeks. Riley stayed silent as the girl braided her hair into a crown similar to Bella's, only hers was a little more elaborate, a little fancier.

"I want you both at my wedding." Bella said proudly. "In fact, I want you both to be _part_ of my wedding because my sisters have shit taste in everything."

"Evidenced by the chandelier dress they wanted me to try on." Morgan laughed.

"That dress was awful." Bella nodded. "Your dress was way prettier, and so perfect for you."

"You should wait until you see Riley's." Morgan remarked. "It's so gorgeous and it fits her so well."

Riley felt her cheeks blushing at Morgan's praise. She did love her dress and she did look gorgeous in it, but it felt nice to have someone else agree with her. She couldn't wait for Peter to see her in it, she just hoped that he gave her the reaction she dreamed of.

"Riley would look good in a potato sack." Bella joked.

Audrey made her way back into the room carrying a smaller, flat-ish box on top of a larger, shoebox sized box, setting them both on the coffee table in front of Morgan. She was quick to move the littler box away and open the one underneath it, producing a teddy bear that was very, _very_ familiar to Riley, who's eyes lit up at the sight.

"Something old." Audrey said softly, handing the brown teddy bear over towards her daughter, it's worn t-shirt very clearly holding the Yankees emblem. "I kept him, I know you left him behind when you went to M.I.T. but I couldn't part with him."

"Mom." Riley murmured, taking hold of the bear and staring down at it. "Thank you."

"That was from her very first Yankees game, her dad and I took her." Audrey explained to Bella, Morgan having heard all about it when her and Riley were little. "She slept with that bear every night until she left for Boston."

"I figured he was given away." Riley snorted. "I'm so glad he wasn't."

"Well," Audrey straightened up and turned right back to the coffee table, lifting the smaller box up and handing it to Riley, taking the bear from her hands and handing it to Morgan, who set it on her lap, "something new."

"Mom." Riley growled but flipped the lid off the box, her eyes widening and her mouth dropping at the sight of the very sparky, very fancy looking tiara tucked away on a pillow of creamy silk. It contained clear and blue crystals that glittered immensely under the light.

Riley had given up on finding herself a decent tiara ages ago, settling on one that she didn't love but could tolerate, but this one was so much prettier.

"Something new and something blue." Morgan remarked with a smile, motioning towards the faux sapphires adorning the tiny points that alternated between the clear crystals. "You just need something borrowed now."

Audrey held up her finger, requesting just one more minute. She dug into the pocket on her pants and produce a dainty silver bracelet, a single heart charm dangling from the middle of it. When she offered it to Riley, she couldn't help but smile.

It was the very bracelet that Riley had been eyeing up since she was a kid, the very bracelet that Audrey's mother had given her on her own wedding day.

"I've got the bases covered." Audrey stated proudly.

"I have blue heels." Riley tossed out. "So I probably could've pulled it all together."

"But now you don't have to worry." Morgan laughed and gave the bear a shake, making it look like it was dancing. Riley rolled her eyes at her friend and Audrey took the tiara from her hands, offering it to the stylist, who was finishing up with her braid crown. After another minute or so of finagling her hair, the tiara was firmly placed on her head and the stylist began working away on her make-up.

When the time came for Riley to put on her dress, she took it upstairs along with Morgan, where she changed into it. When she came back down the stairs and stepped into the living room, her mother _and_ Bella gasped at the sight.

Even though Audrey had seen her in the dress before, this was a whole other level of gorgeousness. Riley looked like a regal queen, the tiara completing her look perfectly and the dainty silver bracelet just enough to add to the look without being too noticeable.

"You look so amazing Riley." Bella commented and Audrey could only nod along in agreement.

The four of them giggled, chatted and had a grand old time as they loaded up into Audrey's car, Riley in the front with her dress stuffed inside while Bella and Morgan sat rather comfortably in the back. The drive over to _The Foundry_ wasn't long at all and once they were there, Riley climbed out of the car and was immediately led inside to a room off to the side by Morgan and Bella.

Audrey soon joined them and that's when Morgan headed out to see if she could find her mother, and ultimately her son. Riley paced the room, pulling up on the skirt of her dress to get a good look at the deep navy-blue strappy stilettos that she had bought for her wedding. They had an ankle strap and strap across the tops of her toes, but other than that, they were plain, stunning because of the colour more so than anything.

Dropping her dress back down to the floor, she let out a giggle as her feet disappeared, but nothing could quell the knot in her stomach at the sheer desire to get out there and marry Peter Stone.

"You're taking his last name, right?" Bella asked from a small padded bench along the wall of the room.

"Yes." Riley paused in her pacing movements and nodded her head. "Was I not supposed to?

"No, I just didn't know because in this day and age a lot of women are keeping their last names." Bella offered up with a shrug. "Riley Stone sounds hot."

"Mrs. Stone." Audrey added with a smile. "Good lord I'm going to have a son-in-law."

"Yeah mom, that's how marriage works." Riley huffed.

"This is a big moment for me." Her mother countered with a wide smile. "You're my little girl, this is huge as a mother. I'm going to walk you down that aisle and hand you over to some guy who's going to be the one you go to for everything, leaving your poor old mother in your dust."

Riley snorted loudly and shook her head, "no way. You'll always be my mom."

Morgan wandered back into the room at that moment and gave a wave in Riley's direction. Riley straightened up, ran her hands down the front of her dress and sucked in a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before blowing it out. Bella stood up from the bench and headed for the door that would lead them to the aisle, immediately finding Sonny standing there holding three bouquets in his hands, Bella's boyfriend was next to him, grinning from ear to ear at the sight of Bella.

When Riley stepped out into the hallway, Sonny let out a low whistle and she snorted at him, giving him a shake of her head. Morgan lightly smacked him in the shoulder, took hold of one of the bouquets and handed another to Riley. Bella grabbed the last one and took her place at the head of the group with her boyfriend by her side.

"You look great Ry." Sonny remarked, sincerity in his tone.

"Doesn't she?" Morgan threw out, looping her arm with Sonny's. "Peter's going to pee his pants you look that great."

"He's not going to- nope, it's fine. If he pees his pants, I will give you a hundred dollars." Riley countered, but there was nothing that would be able to wipe the permanent smile off of her face.

When the music started to sound out in the hallway, Riley threw one last smile in Morgan's direction and watched as Bella wandered down the aisle next to her boyfriend. When Morgan began to walk, Riley gripped her bouquet harder but instantly relaxed as her mother came up beside her, offering her hand to Riley.

Riley took it and gave it a squeeze before letting her mother lead her into the centre of the aisle. Peter's eyes were immediately on her and she couldn't help but smile wider at his reaction. His eyes were nearly bugged out of his head, his mouth was ajar and he was blinking quickly, trying to take in the sight of her as she slowly walked down the aisle closer to him.

When her and Audrey arrived at the altar set up for them, Audrey handed Riley off to Peter before taking her seat in the front row, right next to Charlotte, who was holding baby Michael. Morgan took Riley's bouquet from her hands, letting her friend grip tightly onto both of Peter's hands with her own.

"Wow." He mouthed and she took her bottom lip in between her teeth, trying to keep her own composure. He looked quite dapper in his navy-blue suit, white shirt underneath and simple black tie. It was the perfect alternative to the usual black suit, which was something she saw him in quite regularly.

The officiant began speaking but Riley could barely comprehend what was going on around her, she was too focused on the man in front of her, Peter holding her hands tightly in his.

She made out the word vow from the man's speech and Peter took in a deep breath, readying himself to say his vows to her.

"Riley, you caught my attention from the very first second that I laid eyes on you, you were beautiful then like you're beautiful now. That moment you looked at me…your smile undid me but your laughter put me back together." Peter hesitated and looked across at her, taking in the sight of the very smile he was referring too.

He couldn't help but feel weak in the knees at the idea of actually standing in front of her, reciting his vows to her and letting her know that she was the one person that he truly loved.

She was his everything and there was no way he'd ever get tired of being with her. Riley was his perfect match, every minute he got to spend with her was a gift to him.

"You're the girl I wouldn't mind losing sleep for, the one who I will never get tired of talking to, and the only one who constantly crosses my mind throughout the day." He paused and she felt her lips curling upwards even more (if at all possible). "I fell in love with you; your laugh, your smile, your eyes, the way you curl up with me when the Yankees are playing, the way that you're not scared to tell me anything- I fell in love with you simply because you're you."

"Well…" Riley breathed out a soft sigh. "That's going to be tough to follow."

The small crowd in _The Foundry_ laughed politely, filling the space with a lovely sound. Riley gave him another smile and tipped her head sideways, studying Peter's face for a few seconds before pulling herself together.

She wasn't scared to be standing here in front of him, she wasn't nervous to be getting married, no, she was excited. She loved Peter so much, she just wanted to be with him, to take his last name and make their relationship official in the eyes of the law.

"You once said to me that strong and powerful women can still have moments of weakness, before you said that to me I don't think I realized how true it was. I've had a lot of moments of weakness in my life, before and after I met you." She paused and sucked in a shaky breath, hoping that she was able to keep her composure. She didn't _want_ to cry, but she figured it was pretty much inevitable at this point in time. "You don't judge me when I'm not strong, you're just there to support me and pick me up, you're the first guy that's ever been there for me like that. I love you so much and I know you love me too, and I think that's all I really wanted; to be loved, to have someone hold out a hand during each painful moment and tell me that it's all right; to have someone just be there- that's you Peter, it's always _been_ you."

Everything else happened in a blur and before Riley knew it, she was practically jogging down the aisle alongside Peter, the two of them stopping in front of the room she had waited in. He tugged her against his chest and pressed a kiss to her forehead, his hand coming up to gingerly poke at the tiara on her head.

"Nice touch." He remarked with a smile.

"Veils are for virgins." She teased and grabbed a handful of the skirt part of her dress, lifting it up to show off her shoes. Peter's head tilted sideways as he studied her newest shoes before giving her an approving nod.

"When do I get to take your dress off?" Peter laughed and she dropped the hold she had on her dress, instead running her palms up his chest.

"If you're quick, you can do it now." She purred but let out a snicker of her own before backing away from him. Peter shook his head at her but couldn't help the smile that would be on his face for a long time to come.

She was right though, her dress was simply gorgeous, and the shoes were a perfect addition. What really got him was the tiara though, it was the perfect accessory without being over the top.

She really was his queen now, she even had the crown to prove it.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Where are you going on your honeymoon?" Bella asked as she stood next to Riley and Morgan, who was carrying baby Michael around with her instead of letting her mother horde him.

"We have a Norwegian cruise booked." Riley answered with a grin.

"Fancy!" Bella grinned back at her. "Sounds so nice, bet you'll be glad to get away with just Peter for a couple weeks huh?"

"I'm pretty excited yeah, I've always wanted to sail through the Fjords, plus I don't like hot places."

"Yeah, you'd probably melt if you went to like Hawaii or Mexico." Morgan added with a laugh.

"Peter probably wouldn't mind seeing you in a sexy little bathing suit though." Bella jeered, even going as far as to nudge Riley with her elbow. Riley rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to counter but Morgan beat her to it.

"I think he prefers her in nothing."

"Heels." Riley corrected.

"What?" Morgan shot her a confused look, Bella's expression matching.

"Nothing but heels." Riley tried to elaborate but both girls were still looking at her like she was an alien. "Jesus Christ, he's got a thing for me in my 'fuck me' heels."

Morgan cocked her head sideways while Bella furrowed her eyebrows together.

It was almost sad how unadventurous Morgan's sex life was in Riley's eyes, but she wasn't going to judge her. If her and Sonny were happy then that was all that mattered. Frankly Riley didn't know much about Bella's sex life at all, but she certainly didn't want to hear about it at her wedding.

"So he's got like a foot fetish?" Bella spoke slowly, not entirely sure what she was asking, or if she wanted to know the answer.

"No." Riley groaned. "That's weird."

Morgan scoffed at her friend, "the shoes you have on right now are killer, you're telling me that you're going to leave them on while you're…you know…consummating the marriage?"

Pressing her lips together tightly, Riley rolled her eyes, wondering if she had rubbed off on Morgan at all in the years that they had lived together. It still amazed her how narrow-minded Morgan was when it came to sex.

"Moving on." Riley grumbled.

"Yeah okay, did you buy any sexy wedding night lingerie?" Morgan teased but Riley's fist shot out and swiped at the back of her shoulder, just barely grazing her skin.

"Did you?" She fired back at Morgan, who immediately nodded her head yes. "Let me guess, it was cute and white and probably had bows on it?"

"Yeah, isn't that…what does yours look like?"

"Nothing but my heels." Riley echoed her words from earlier.

"Right, you're such a slut sometimes."

Riley nodded her head and peered over at the half sleeping Michael, rather disturbed by the fact that they had been talking about such inappropriate stuff while a baby was present. She was still smitten with him though and hoped to have her own baby one day, maybe a cruise through Norway would help them out in that department, but she wasn't banking on it. The wedding had been nice and now she was officially married to Peter Stone, which was something she hadn't thought she wanted until she met him.

She felt great, nothing could get to her tonight, not even the fact that she wanted to be a mother so badly, no, that was a problem for a different day. Today was her wedding day and she was enjoying the company at her reception, which was in the same space as the ceremony only it had been rearranged to look totally different.

The sun had set and it was getting later in the night, the twinkle lights set up around the tops of each and every wall of windows, setting the mood perfectly. The food had been great and now they were all mingling, except Riley had pretty much stuck to Morgan's side since the plates had been cleared.

"Not going to lie here Ry, I figured you'd be a spinster well into your senior years." Morgan stated and when Riley locked her eyes on her, Morgan broke out into a grin. "Kidding! I would've gotten on your ass to find a good guy and settle down long before your hair turned grey."

Sticking her tongue out, Riley excused herself from Morgan and Bella and headed out into the small crowd of guests at her reception. She brushed past her mother, who merely smiled at her and carried on in search of the one person she desperately wanted to see.

When she found Peter, he was standing with some of his lawyer buddies, including the man she knew to be Jack McCoy, whom she had been introduced to for the first time at the gala so long ago. Peter reached out for her and took her by the hand, gently tugging her forward and setting his arm across her shoulders. Riley wrapped her arms around his abdomen and stayed by his side.

"Peter here was just telling me that you're a huge baseball fan." Jack stated, giving Riley a polite smile.

"Not baseball, Yankees. I'm a huge Yankees fan." She corrected with a teasing smile.

"It's a shame you never got the chance to see Peter here pitch for the Cubs, he was pretty good."

"I would've loved to have seen him pitch so I won't argue with you there." Riley teased. "But he still wouldn't have swayed me away from my beloved Yankees."

Jack let out a laugh at her proclamation and Peter turned sideways, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. He drummed his fingers against her bare shoulder but didn't let go of her, apparently not wanting her to get away from him again. He had lost her shortly after they had finished dinner but he wasn't overly concerned; she wasn't going to go too far away, not if this was a party for them.

"I've seen her in the Cubs colours, she's definitely better looking in the navy." Peter said softly and Riley snorted.

"You're the one in navy tonight, it's definitely your colour."

"You two are quite the couple." Jack offered. "Peter, I like this one."

"I like this one too." Peter threw in. "I think I'm going to keep her."

Beaming, Riley remained at Peter's side, watching as Jack McCoy excused himself, wandering away to find himself another drink. She loosened her grip on Peter but didn't stray, instead remaining by his side and peering into his eyes, wondering if he was feeling just as happy as she was at that very second.

"He probably wouldn't like me if he knew how we really met." Riley said with a mischievous look in her eye. "He might even think I'm a bad influence."

"Never." Peter murmured. "I was just as much a willing participant."

"So willing." She cooed. "Thank god for that."

Rolling his eyes, he moved his arm away from her shoulders and laced his fingers through hers. She shifted on her feet so she was standing in front of him and when he leaned in to kiss her, she relaxed, letting him do just that, leaving her with a simple little peck on her lips. Peter lifted his free hand up and gingerly rested his palm against the side of her face, ghosting his fingers over her cheek.

A shiver ran up her spine but she didn't pull away, instead she held his gaze and smiled.

"You look absolutely stunning." Peter complimented and she tipped her head sideways as she took his words to heart. She _felt_ stunning, she felt like a princess who was getting her happy ending, and it was all because of the man in front of her. She was so thankful that she had given him a chance, she was appreciative of the fact that he had let her see him for a second time, then a third, and so on.

Until Peter Stone there wasn't anyone worth fighting for but he was it. Her life was great with him and she wouldn't trade him for anyone.

"I'm leaving the tiara on until tomorrow, just to let you know." Riley said smugly.

"And the shoes?" He pressed, all she could do was laugh in response.

"If I'm honest, I never want to take the dress off either."

"It's a beautiful dress."

With a quick motion, she lifted her one hand up and rested it on top of his, which remained on her cheek. She gingerly pulled it away and curled into his chest, forcing his hand to reside on the back of her shoulder in a sort of awkward embrace. Resting her head against the front of his shoulder, she let out a soft sigh of content and simply basked in the moment.

"We're married." She whispered. "Can you believe it?"

"I can."

"It's amazing." She said in wonder. "I'm a married woman."

"My wife." He nodded.

"Say that again."

"You're my wife."

She liked the sound of that, "Mrs. Stone."

Peter hugged her tighter for a quick second before letting go of her completely, putting a good foot of space between them. He stared at her and she scrunched her nose up at him, wondering what the hell he was doing, why had he let her go so easily?

"Say _that_ again." He commanded softly but there was no menace to his tone. He simply wanted to hear her repeat herself.

"Mrs. Stone?" She cocked her head in confusion. That's what she was now, and frankly, she loved the sound of it too. She loved Peter, she wanted nothing more than to be with him for the rest of her life, and right now was just the beginning.

"Riley Stone." He corrected. "You're Riley Stone."

"Huh yeah, I get it. I _really_ do like the sound of that."

He leaned in to kiss her but he didn't get the chance to because the soft, calm mingling music came to a stop and Morgan took her place at the space set up for the DJ. She was holding a microphone in her hand and she had a giant smile plastered on her face.

"Hey everyone." Morgan started and slowly but surely everyone in the place turned to look at her. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Riley's best friend. She and I met in third grade when I was pushed off the monkey bars by a kid in my class. He was making fun of me because I was on the ground crying and Riley, well she marched right over to him and shoved him down and called him a dick and I thought 'this girl is awesome, she's fearless' and honestly, to this day I still believe that about her. See, some people arrive and make such a beautiful impact on your life, you can barely remember what life was like without them and Riley's one of those people. She's impacted my life in ways that she doesn't even know, so to see her so happy makes me proud. Peter, you're the one person in the world that I trust with my best friend; I also know that if you ever hurt her, she'll probably shove you down and call you a dick."

Riley let out a loud bark of laughter and Morgan smiled right back at her.

Morgan's eyes met Peter's and he was fighting back a smile too.

"I wish you both many years of happiness." Morgan finished and immediately handed the microphone off to Sonny, who was waiting nearby with Michael in his hold. Morgan took over carrying their son while Sonny cleared his throat and lifted the microphone up, taking up a stance in front of the room full of people who were looking right at him.

"I'll keep this short and sweet." Sonny paused and took a deep breath. "It's not hard to see that Peter and Riley are very much in love, they're the perfect pair, they're both smart, she's an engineer and he's an attorney, they're both kind, but most importantly, they're both better people because they're together. It's a special honour for me to have been asked to be a part of this incredible day and I just want to propose a toast to the happy couple, wishing them years upon years of blissful happiness!"

Everyone in the room lifted their glasses and Riley leaned in to Peter, giving him a kiss on the jaw, listening as the people in the room broke out into a fit of cheers for them.

When she pulled away, she grabbed his hand tightly in hers and shot Sonny an appreciative smile, then she found Morgan standing near Sonny and threw her a wave, just to let her know she appreciated her too.

"Let's give it up for the happy couple as they take their first dance together as husband and wife!" Sonny cheered and the DJ made quick work of starting their song, which was none other than Bryan Adam's 'Heaven'.

Riley's heart started to pound in sheer excitement as Peter took her into his hold and began moving carefully with her around on the dancefloor.

She had loved Morgan's speech and Sonny's had been great too, but this moment was what she had been waiting for since dinner had ended, this was the part she had wanted to get to so bad.

He held her tight and gingerly pressed his forehead against hers, reveling in the fact that Riley was now his wife, she was going to take his last name- they were married!

This wasn't what Peter had expected to happen when he had first laid eyes on her in the bar, or when she had offered herself up to him minutes after finding out his name. She had been pretty bold that night, but it hadn't scared him away, if anything, it had drawn him to her.

She was a unique individual, a person he had been lucky to find and even luckier to hold on to. Yes she had her _quirks_ but it didn't matter because the idea of spending his life with anyone else just felt wrong. Riley was it for him, and he was all she needed.

They would be great together, for a long time to come. He'd look after her, he'd keep her safe, he'd be there for her when she needed someone. He was excited for their future together and when he looked into her eyes and saw the sparkle there, he knew in his gut that she felt the same.


	31. Chapter 31

Morgan had been glad to get back to work but she missed Michael every day that she left him with the babysitter. It was hard, but Amanda had talked her through it, helped her with some tips and tricks that made leaving her baby with someone else easier so that she could do her job with a little more focus.

She constantly thought of him though, but she could be both a mom and a detective, she _loved_ her job, nothing was going to stop her from doing it.

Nonetheless, each and every evening that she walked into the house and laid her eyes on her baby boy, her heart swelled with pride. This baby was everything to her, she'd do whatever she had to in order to provide for him, to protect him and to lead him towards a decent life.

More often than not Sonny was the one who arrived home first and as such, he usually stopped and picked Michael up from the babysitter, who just happened to be his mother, at least for the time being. Her mother had offered her services as well and was on speed dial for the days that Sonny's mom couldn't do it but so far, in the weeks that she had been back to work, they hadn't called Charlotte yet.

Today there was an extra person in her house and when she spotted Riley sitting on the couch holding her baby boy, she let out a laugh and made quick work of joining her best friend in the living room, leaving Sonny in the kitchen to work away at dinner.

"I was _not_ expecting you here." Morgan grinned and as soon as she was sitting down, Riley handed the baby over, knowing that she had gone all day without seeing him. "Pleasant surprise though."

"Peter's working late tonight." Riley offered up and Morgan cocked her head sideways in confusion. Sonny hadn't mentioned any big cases, but that didn't mean Peter couldn't have something to do, did it? "He's making up for taking the afternoon off last week."

"Oh." Morgan was still confused but she didn't want to press it. She found, more often than not, that she was forgetting things way more easily than she had been prior to Michael's birth. It didn't surprise her, Riley's life was her own and she had bigger things to focus on, so neglecting a detail that she might've mentioned long ago wasn't concerning to her. "Right."

"Mo." Sonny scolded from across the room. "Don't pretend you know what she's talking about."

"She can though, I never actually told her. The only reason you know is because Peter told _you_." Riley looked over the back of the couch at Sonny, who happened to know a lot more about Peter's personal life because he worked with him, in close proximity. He knew why Peter had been absent that particular afternoon, he knew because he was responsible for covering his workload while he was gone.

When Riley turned her attention back to Morgan, Morgan merely stared at her while gently rocking Michael in her arms, waiting for Riley's full attention. It was nice to see her friend getting along so well with her husband, sort of weird that Sonny seemed to know more about Riley than she did, but definitely nice.

"So what _are_ you talking about? Why's Peter at work still?" Morgan pressed.

"We went for our second round of in vitro last week and since he's involved in the process, he was required to be there. He wanted to make up some time at work and tonight was as good a night as any for him to stick around."

"He was needed for his sperm." Sonny threw out from the kitchen and Riley snorted at him. "What? That's what-"

"Yeah, I know how it works." Morgan cut him off, rolling her eyes at her husband's words

"You do?" He countered.

"Riley told me all about how it works, step by step, even showed me a pamphlet. It's actually kind of…"

"It's weird." Riley supplied.

"Okay, yes, let's go with weird." Morgan grinned. "Didn't Peter show _you_ the pamphlet Sonny? It's pretty educational."

Sonny threw his hands up in surrender and tried to ignore them while he worked on making dinner. In all honesty, he didn't really want to think too much about it, he already figured he knew _way_ more than he wanted to no thanks to Peter. He was a supportive friend though, so he'd participate in the conversation if he could, that didn't mean he wanted the details.

Morgan stuck her tongue out at his back but turned her attention to Riley. She knew Riley was at her home more for moral support than actual dinner, so Morgan was going to provide her just that. They were still best friends, even if they were both married, and even though Sonny seemed to know more about her.

"I just didn't want to be at home by myself." Riley stated. "I get in my own head and then I end up worked up to the point where I feel like I'm going to vomit. Then I get really bad chest pains from the sheer anxiety of it all."

"That does not sound fun." Morgan replied, sympathy lacing her tone. "I'm sorry you have to deal with that."

"Well it might not be so bad but I went off my anti-anxiety meds before this round." Riley explained.

"Oh Ry, that's shitty." Morgan murmured, reaching out and giving Riley's knee an encouraging pat. "So when do you get to find out if it worked?"

"A couple of weeks." Riley answered, glad to be away from the topic of her anxiety problems.

"Oh man." Morgan sighed and quickly handed Michael over to Riley in an effort to provide her with a lovely distraction. "You're not good at waiting."

"Nope." Riley shook her head and settled Michael in against her chest, staring down at the baby's beautiful face and watching his eyes slowly shutting. He was such a peaceful baby, at least any time she saw him, but Morgan always told her otherwise whenever they spoke.

He still wasn't sleeping all that well through the night, which left both Morgan and Sonny tired, but that seemed typical for most new parents, right? Riley continued to stare at Michael, silently praying for one of her own someday, but she was starting to consider what other methods would look like.

Surrogacy sure, that was definitely an option and honestly, it wasn't as low on her list as it once had been. If in vitro didn't work this time, she wasn't sure what she'd do, but she did know that her and Peter had agreed on two attempts.

It was expensive, and Riley didn't figure her chances of it working _were_ all that great.

There was also adoption, but adoptions weren't always simple. Sometimes there were complexities to them, like whether there was outside family wanting the child, or the fear that the mother would turn around and decide she wanted to keep the baby after all.

Fostering was another thing that crossed her mind but the odds of winding up with a baby, or a child young enough to still be considered a toddler, weren't very likely. Still, she knew it was a decent option, and maybe one day she'd be desperate enough to do it.

"You've got a good man." Morgan spoke softly, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. "He's so patient."

"Patient is what I need." Riley teased, but there was definitely truth to her words. "I just really hope it works this time, you know?"

Nodding her head, Morgan merely watched as her friend cuddled her baby, wanting nothing more than for Riley to feel the happiness that she felt because of Michael. He was such a joy, even if he was troublesome at night. There wasn't anything that she wouldn't do for him, she loved him that much and it had been instant.

The second she had laid her eyes on him at the hospital, she had known that this was who she was living for. Michael was her son, her purpose for living, and dammit if she wasn't going to be the best mom possible for him.

"Thank god we didn't have to deal with that." Sonny called over, the two girls letting out laughter at him. "Natural methods are so much more fun."

"I won't disagree with you on that." Riley smiled.

Another blanket of silence fell over them and Riley seemed genuinely happy just to sit on the couch with Michael in her arms. Morgan was quick to produce her phone and snap a picture of her best friend and son, then she sent it to Peter, who was at work still. She wasn't expecting a reply, so she set her phone on the couch cushion between her and Riley and relaxed into the back of the couch.

" _When_ you have your baby, take a lot more time off after they're born than I did." Morgan suggested.

"Yeah?"

"God yes, I miss him so much when I'm at work." Morgan whimpered. "He's my little baby boy."

"You could've taken more time off Mo, we can afford it." Sonny tossed in but she shook her head no.

"It would've had to happen eventually, and the longer I would've stayed off with him, the less likely I would've wanted to go back."

"So maybe you took a good amount of time off?" Riley quipped.

"I mean…yes but also no…but definitely nice to get back to work." Morgan let out a sigh. "I don't know, on one hand I'm glad to be back at work with other adults, but on the other hand, I just want to be with Michael forever, you know?"

"But Sonny's mom watches him, so that's got to take some of the anxiety away, right?"

"Again, yes and no. It's nice because I know the woman looking after my child, but on the other hand, I don't want her to feel pressure to look after him if she doesn't want to."

"She definitely wants to Mo." Sonny added. "She loves that boy."

Morgan pressed her lips together and made a funny face at Riley, who bit back a laugh so as not to get Morgan in trouble with Sonny. When Morgan leaned forward and ran her hand over Michael's back soothingly, Riley knew that this was exactly what she wanted.

She wanted to be a mom, she wanted to spend her evenings with Peter and their child, she just hoped that it was possible. They had already failed numerous times already and Riley was fully aware that her issues were serious, more serious than she originally believed. The natural method hadn't worked, neither had artificial insemination and now she was on their last chance of in vitro.

As if she had anxiety issues before, now she was dealing with a whole new bunch of them, which definitely didn't help.

"You two got lucky with this kid right here." Riley complimented.

"Oh definitely." Morgan nodded her head enthusiastically. "He's a pretty good baby."

"He's a great baby!" Sonny shouted.

"He's a great baby, much easier to take care of than the big lug of a baby that I have working away in the kitchen right now." Morgan cackled.

Riley could only laugh along with her friend and hoped to god that she wound up with a baby this go round.

There were too many unknowns that she didn't want to think about if she didn't.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Holy shit, no this couldn't _really_ be happening, could it? This had to be a dream, or at the very least a hallucination. Was someone going to jump out and yell 'just kidding', maybe it was April Fool's day, or maybe it was possible that Riley wasn't dreaming at all. Maybe she was in the middle of a very real situation that she had not been expecting.

Her eyes were locked on the screen of her phone, her heart beating rapidly inside her chest, and tears were already welling up in her eyes, tears of joy of course. She wasn't totally expecting this, she wasn't really prepared to be anything other than disappointed but the clinic had called and told her otherwise.

It wasn't possible, she couldn't really be pregnant, could she?

Her fingers wrapped around the edges of her phone and she lifted it upwards, closer to her face so that she could get a better look at the screen. The call was over but the words were playing over and over in her head; they had said her blood test had come back and the results were good. She was definitely pregnant.

With a low yip of excitement Riley wound up and tossed her phone onto the bed, watching as it bounced once and then landed face down on the covers. She headed into the bathroom and leaned against the counter, staring into the mirror over the sink and studying her face.

With a sigh, she bent over further, dropping to a squat in front of the bathroom cupboard and pressed her forehead against the cool edge of the countertop. Her eyes squeezed shut and she tried to fight back the tears of sheer joy at the news.

"Good god." She muttered, pulling her hands away from the countertop and burying her face into her hands, letting the tears fall from her eyes.

She cautiously set her butt on the tile floor of the bathroom and scooted across to sit with her back against the side of the tub, letting out a deep breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. Her head tipped back and she looked up at the ceiling, squeezing her eyes shut and praying that Peter would be just as happy as she was.

She had to tell him and she couldn't wait to do it. She was going to be able tell the man that she loved, that she adored to pieces, that she was finally pregnant. Was this what he was expecting too, was he thinking that this last time would work for them or had he prepared himself to face the fact that Riley wasn't likely going to get pregnant?

This was what they wanted though, what they had worked so hard for before they were even married. They had moved into this house with the thought of having a child, it even had a bedroom for when it came into the world. Everything was finally falling into place.

Riley let out a joy-filled sob and leaned to the side, moving to lay down on the floor and bringing her legs up, curling into the fetal position. She curled her arms around her knees and remained there, so in shock at the news that she didn't know what else to do. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to come up with a plan: step one, tell Peter what was happening, step two…step two…okay so maybe she hadn't gotten any further than step one, she was freaking out, this was such great news!

She uncurled her legs and pressed her palms against her stomach, grateful that in vitro had worked this time. It was better than anything else they had done thus far and she was going to do her best to make sure it resulted in a baby.

Slowly Riley made her way back up into a sitting position and let her legs extend out in front of her. She continued to rest her palms over her belly button and let out a loud sigh.

At the sound of the front door to the house shutting, she tensed slightly but didn't move from her spot in the bathroom. She wasn't sure what she was waiting for, maybe for Peter to call out to her, to ask where she was, or maybe she was waiting for him to come looking for her, to find her sitting on the floor in the bathroom with tears in her eyes, tears of sheer joy. He had to know that something was up, especially if he walked in on her; maybe that would make it easier for her to tell him.

"Riley?" He called out to her and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat from the crying.

"In…in here!" She tried to call back to him but her voice caught, she just hoped that he had managed to hear her.

"Where's here?" Peter asked and she heard his footsteps mounting the stairs to the second floor, the floor she was currently on.

"Bathroom!"

"Bathroom?" He quipped and she knew for certain that he was confused. Did that mean he wasn't going to come and find her because he thought maybe she was busy in the bathroom, potentially using the facilities maybe?

"Yeah." She mumbled and slid down ever so slightly, resting the back of her head on the edge of the tub.

Riley didn't say another word, she merely sat and waited. She didn't have to wait too long before the bathroom door, which had been partially closed, swung wide open, Peter standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked and stepped forward. She locked her eyes on his and felt the tears welling up even more. His expression faltered and he rushed towards her, crouching down next to her, offering her his hands as a gesture of comfort. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's _wrong_." She whispered and Peter leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her as she started to cry harder. She just couldn't fucking believe it! She was actually pregnant!

She buried her face into his shoulder and moved her hands up, resting her palms against his chest before balling his shirt in her fists. Not wanting him to get too far away from her, she held him tight and he leaned back slightly, making a move to brush away the tears but she turned her head and took her lip in between her teeth.

"Hey shh, calm down, I'm here, right here Riley."

"No," she shook her head, "it's not bad."

"What?" Peter narrowed his eyes in on her and she turned her head back to face him straight on. "Talk to me Riley, what's going on?"

"It worked."

His entire body stiffened and Peter moved down to sit next to her, slowly peeling his body away from her but slipping his arm around her shoulders instead. He pulled her against him and pressed a kiss to her temple but the tears continued to escape from her eyes.

"Riley, are you…" He murmured and she dropped her head against his shoulder but leaned back slightly and looked up at him.

"Pregnant." She sucked in another breath and held it, trying to calm down the slightest bit. Peter ran his hand across her back in a comforting gesture and Riley scooted closer to him, draping her legs over his. "I'm pregnant."

"Really?" His eyes lit up at her words but all she could do was slowly nod her head. His grip on her tightened and he buried his face into her hair, hugging her tight against him, fearful that if he let go, he'd wake up from this dream. It felt too good to be true, but he could hear her breathing, he could touch her- it was all real. It was really happening!

"Fuck Peter," she trailed off and her heart picked up in pace, "I wasn't…this isn't something that I really thought would happen."

"It did." Peter smirked at her and she stared at him, hearing the words he said and letting them sink in. Yes it was really happening for them, she was actually pregnant, but it still didn't _feel_ real. "I can't believe it."

"I know, me neither." Riley whispered and just held on to him, letting him hug her.

They were silent for a good few minutes before she let out a soft sigh, lifted a hand up to swipe at her joyous tears and then set her palm on his thigh. He ran his hand up and down her back, trying to keep her calm, knowing that this level of excitement would maybe wind up as a different sort of panic attack.

"I think you're going to be a wonderful mother." Peter pressed another kiss to the side of her head.

"I wouldn't go _that_ far." She looked up at him, her eyes wide and shiny.

"I would."

Riley let out a sigh and curled up against his side, bringing her knees up to her body. Peter took her in his arms and she looked down at his feet, wondering if this was actually happening. Would they really have a family of their own?

Riley relaxed in his hold and moved her one leg over so that she was straddling his thighs. She leaned back and gently set her butt on his legs, his arms moving around her back, holding her against his chest. A small, nervous smile took up residence on her face and Peter found that he was smiling along with her.

"Are you happy?" She asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"So happy." He breathed the words out.

She took her lip in between her teeth again, looking at Peter, who slowly nodded his head yes. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his, letting out a humming noise as Peter's hands moved up her back, hugging her against him tightly.

"I love you." Riley murmured and settled in against his chest, setting her head against his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head and tightened his grip on her.

"I know. I love you too."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Prescott, you had lunch yet?"

Riley turned her head sideways, pulling her focus away from her work computer in front of her. She locked eyes on her female co-worker Reeve Bannon and forced a smile onto her face. Shaking her head no, she then peered at the time at the bottom right corner of her computer screen, making note that it was well past lunch time.

"It's not Prescott anymore." Riley teased and made her way to her feet. "But no, I haven't had lunch yet."

"My bad, _Stone_. You want to join me for some food, I'm heading down to that place on the corner."

"No, I'm not feeling like lunch right now."

She knew she should be eating but honestly, ever since she had gone to bed the night before, things hadn't been all that great. Her stomach had been bugging her from dinner and it never got better before she went to bed. When she woke up that morning, she had seriously debated staying home from work but decided that it was probably just a bad pregnancy day.

If she missed work simply because she was struggling with her pregnancy so early on, then what was it going to be like when things got worse. No one at work knew, in fact, the only people that did were Peter, Morgan, Sonny and her mom.

She hadn't wanted to tell a whole slew of people until she was further along, until it was approaching a relatively safer announcement time. She was about seven weeks pregnant and last night had been the worst of it so far.

"You sure? Skipping lunch isn't always a great idea, plus I got the company credit card." Reeve grinned, even going as far as to pull the shiny black card belonging to the engineering firm from her pocket, waving it around for Riley to see. "Free food."

Rolling her eyes, Riley stretched her body out and ran her hands through her hair, lamely brushing it out and tossing it over her shoulders. She shook her head no and Reeve shrugged her off, leaving her alone in her office while the girl headed off to get lunch.

Lowering her butt back down, she sat on her chair again and sucked in a breath, holding it for a few seconds before letting it out slowly, wondering if maybe she should've taken Reeve up on the offer but honestly, she wasn't really hungry. The more she thought about food, the more knotted her stomach started to feel.

Maybe today was a good day to head home and work from there, at least once she walked through the doors, she could maybe find something to eat that didn't make her stomach turn at the thought.

Shooting an email to her boss to let him know she was heading home to work, she then packed her stuff up quick, leaving the office to head home.

The ride there was quiet and Riley felt her lower back starting to ache. Was it from all the sitting at the office without taking a break? Or was it because of her pregnancy? Honestly, she didn't know but she did know that it was hurting something awful and once she pulled into her driveway, she let out a frustrated sigh at the pain.

Climbing out of the car, Riley paused and leaned against the side of it, feeling the pain in her lower back increasing with the movement. She needed someone to talk to, someone who would help her relax because she wasn't sure if this pain was normal or not.

Morgan would work, she had gone through a pregnancy once already, she was the most obvious choice.

Wandering towards the front door but leaving her stuff in the car, she freed her phone and dialed Morgan's number. Morgan picked up as soon as Riley was inside the front door and suddenly Riley felt a little bit guilty; just because she had the ability to work from home didn't mean Morgan could just drop her job and come to Riley.

"Hey friend!" Morgan chirped and Riley groaned at the sheer excitement of Morgan's tone. She had shut the front door behind her and dragged her feet into the living room, flopping onto the couch with a huff and pressing her hand into the flesh of her lower back.

"Are you busy?" Riley asked instantly. She didn't want to keep bugging her if she was distracted by work, but she also didn't want to just let Morgan go without the possibility of being able to talk to her.

"Uh…I mean…I can take a lunch break." Morgan offered and Riley rolled onto her side, feeling a cramp pinging in her back. "Why, what's up?"

"I'm just at home, in pain." Riley breathed the words out, hoping she didn't sound too freaked out. It hurt too much, it felt too weird, but she didn't know who else to call because it was very likely that Morgan would tell her that it was normal and she was fine.

"Give me a few, I'm on my way." Morgan hung up the phone before Riley had a chance to object, or say anything else. Instead she stretched her legs out, dropped her phone to the floor and drove her fingers into her hips in an attempt to alleviate the pain radiating from her lower body.

She was familiar with bad cramps because her periods were never that calm, but it still bothered her time and time again; except now she couldn't just down a bunch of over-the-counter pain pills in an attempt to get the pain to stop.

Her eyes fell shut and she tried to focus on her breathing, much like she would for a panic attack. She felt the familiar starting of pain in her chest at the thought that something was wrong because there was no way pregnancy was supposed to feel like _this_. It was too much and it had come on when she wasn't expecting it.

Even if this level of pain was normal, it would still scare her, especially with her background.

Groaning, Riley forced herself to her feet and sauntered into the kitchen, taking a seat at the island and grabbing her hips again, squeezing slightly while praying to god that she and the baby were both okay.

Before too long, Morgan came bounding through the front door and immediately set her sights on Riley, looking at her with concern and confusion. She flipped her shoes off at the front door and joined her at the island, her hand going to her back and rubbing circles there. Riley turned her head towards Morgan and knew that she couldn't contain the tears that were threatening to spill.

It hurt too much and she was too scared, so scared that her chest felt tight and she had to focus really hard in order to breathe properly.

"Hey, what's going on Ry?" Morgan murmured and leaned in closer to her, her hand moving in larger circles on her back. "What's wrong?"

"Mo it hurts." She whimpered and felt herself slump against Morgan, resting her head on her pal's shoulder. "And I don't know what to do to get it to stop."

"It hurts?" Morgan pressed. "Bad?"

"Yeah, my back mostly but my hips hurt like when I get my period."

Morgan's hand never once stopped moving on her back and Riley let out a moan of pain, wondering if she should've called Peter instead of Morgan.

"Like cramping?" Morgan questioned, and Riley nodded her head yes. "Did you eat something bad?"

Riley shook her head this time and let out a hiss of pain, "I haven't really eaten much today at all, haven't felt that great."

"Ry, you can't just not eat." Morgan groaned. She was quickly growing frustrated at the whole situation (mostly because she didn't know how to truly help) and while it wasn't her friend's fault that she didn't want to eat anything, Morgan couldn't help but grow even more concerned. If Riley didn't eat, the baby didn't get nutrients, it was simple math but it didn't matter, the amount of pain and discomfort Riley claimed to be in was trumping any desire to eat.

"It hurts." Riley whined and pressed her fingers into her sides again, digging them into her flesh harder. "I know I should have eaten something but right now it feels like someone's got a hold of my stomach and they're just twisting it."

"Ry, that's not normal." Morgan stated calmly but inside she was starting to worry even more. She had a lot of typical pregnancy issues before she had Michael but not once had it felt like someone was twisting her stomach, if anything, Morgan could never get enough food.

"What do I do?"

Morgan held her breath and considered her friend's question. What _did_ she do? It wasn't like Morgan was a doctor, she had no idea what was going on, or if there even _was_ something wrong, but if it was hurting her this much, the least she could do was suggest getting herself checked out by a medical professional, right?

"Hospital?" Morgan suggested.

"I just want to lay down." Riley whimpered.

"Ry I don't think that's a good idea." Morgan tipped her head sideways, studying the slumped over form of her best friend. "Maybe just try to eat _something_?"

"We could try…" Riley paused and leaned back on the stool, stretching out her abdominal muscles, "I have yogurt, we could try that, or anything at all like that? That's really all that sounds ever remotely enticing."

"First of all, that's probably just going to make your stomach feel worse." Morgan pointed out and both girls turned towards the fridge in the kitchen. "Dairy is rarely the right choice."

Riley merely looked at Morgan and let out another low hiss of pain. She had been experiencing the worse than average cramps for the last little while, which is why Morgan was even at her house to begin with, yet the pain seemed to be getting worse and not better.

"Make it stop." Riley muttered and brought her one leg upwards, hugging her knee against her chest as she balanced on the stool with Morgan's help.

"Hospital Ry." Morgan countered and Riley merely grumbled in protest. Going to the hospital meant admitting that something was potentially wrong and she wasn't prepared to do that, not yet anyways. "How far along are you again?"

"Like seven weeks." Riley answered and leaned forward, the edge of the counter digging in to her abdomen. She let out a low groan and scooted the stool back before dropping down to sit on the floor. Morgan was quick to follow Riley's lead, moving to sit on the floor next to her best friend before taking her into her arms and running her hands up and down her back.

While it hadn't been a very difficult pregnancy so far, Riley knew that this was beyond normal pregnancy problems. She usually had constant morning sickness (though it wasn't terribly bad), and she _did_ complain about body aches all the time; but now she was suffering from pretty bad cramps.

"How about I make you some soup and then I'll go lay down with you?" Morgan offered and Riley let out a scoff. "What? What's wrong with that?"

"How about the fact that soup sounds awful and I'd rather not let you cook me food." Riley forced out a chuckle before moving away from Morgan's hold. Morgan glared at her but quickly made her way to her feet before offering a hand to Riley, who took hold of it and hauled herself to her feet. "Can't we just skip food and go right to laying down? Morgan I really don't feel good."

"Okay but if it gets _any_ worse-"

"I'll let you know." Riley cut her off with a dismissive wave of her hand. Laying down sounded really, really nice right about now. "Come on Mo, my bed is calling"

Morgan slipped an arm around Riley's back and gently ushered her out of the kitchen leading her up the stairs and essentially tucking her under the covers before carefully laying down next to her. She watched as Riley curled into a ball, stuffing a pillow under her head and letting out a soft groan as she settled in for a nap.

She gave a silent prayer that Riley was going to be alright, she had fought so hard to get pregnant and Morgan didn't want to see that jeopardized, Riley deserved to be a mother.

After a few minutes, she felt Riley relax next to her and stealthily she pulled her phone out of the pocket of her pants, shooting a text message to Peter to let him know that Riley was at home with her and that she was feeling something awful.

If Riley wasn't going to tell him herself, the least Morgan could do was keep him in the loop.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

The text from Morgan had rattled Peter, it had rattled him so much that he immediately grabbed his jacket, stuffed his phone into the pocket and took off for Sonny's office, popping his head in without even bothering to knock. He had to get home to Riley, he had to make sure she was fine, even though the concerned text Morgan had sent him suggested otherwise.

Sonny looked up at the sight of his friend in the doorway and furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion. It was the middle of the afternoon, much too late for lunch, and it was definitely odd that Peter was dressed like he was ready to head out of his office, jacket on and everything. Peter Stone didn't just _leave_.

Did he have somewhere to be that Sonny didn't know about? Was he on his way to meet with a client somewhere that wasn't here?

Sure it was possible but if Peter was leaving the building, especially at this particular time, that meant Sonny would be the one looking after his clients and workload for the rest of the afternoon, which usually required Peter to tell him ahead of time that he was going to be heading out; it gave Sonny a chance to prepare, but there had been no warning. He hadn't done anything of the sort, which begged the question: what was up with Peter Stone?

"I have to head home." Peter stated firmly, and Sonny felt even more confused than he had mere seconds ago. Peter had never once headed home in this manner since he started as ADA, something was up. "Morgan texted me, she's there with Riley, who left work early and apparently she's not feeling too great."

"She okay?" Sonny asked, wondering how bad it must be for Peter to be heading home to check on her, or to be with her. He was well aware that she was pregnant, but surely this was more than just the usual pregnancy symptoms for Peter to have been called home by Morgan- speaking of; why was Morgan with Riley?

Wasn't she supposed to be at work?

Oh god, if Morgan had stepped away from work to be there for Riley, something was definitely not right. She had even gone as far as to text Peter and let him know that Riley wasn't feeling good, that had to mean that whatever he was going to walk in on at home wasn't going to be good.

"I don't know." Peter shook his head, _was_ Riley okay? It wasn't like she had been the one to contact him, no, Morgan had. That meant that Riley had contacted Morgan first. "Morgan didn't tell me much about what's going on but Riley rarely comes home from work early."

"Oh no, so it must be pretty bad." Sonny frowned, hoping that his friend was going to be okay. Maybe she was just having a rough day, maybe it was just an extra hard bout of nausea and body aches.

"I don't know." Peter looked down at his feet. "I doubt I'll be back either."

"Right, yeah of course." Sonny forced what he was hoping was a reassuring smile on his face. "I got things here, just let me know when _you_ know?"

Peter let out a soft sigh, gave him a nod and took off down the hall. His heart was pounding and his nerves were shot. Whatever was wrong with Riley, for whatever reason she was complaining that she wasn't feeling good, Peter was scared.

They had tried so hard to get pregnant in the first place and now, not even two months into it, she was struggling. She had never once come home early from work since getting pregnant but if she wasn't feeling great, then maybe home was precisely where she needed to be. Riley had anxiety issues on a good day, he couldn't imagine how much more stress being pregnant was adding.

By the time he got home, the worst possible thoughts that he could come up with were running through his head and he was pretty scared of what he was going to find inside his home. Was something wrong with the baby, was Riley's pregnancy in danger? Hell, was Riley going to be okay?

He just needed to get to her to find out how bad it really was, and now that he was home, he was so close to seeing his wife, there was hardly anything left between him and getting to Riley.

Morgan had heard the front door opening, she had remained curled up against Riley's side even as she heard Peter make his way up the stairs. Glancing down at her best friend, Morgan made a mental note to tell Peter to leave her sleeping, she looked too peaceful to disturb and at least if Riley was in dreamland, the pain from the cramping wasn't bothering her.

She didn't make a move to pull away from Riley, not until Peter stepped into the bedroom and lowered himself down onto the bed behind his wife. Morgan carefully slipped away from Riley's grasp, moving slowly and stealthily so that she didn't wake the sleeping woman. When she was free from Riley's hold, she quickly made her way to her feet and flashed Peter a smile.

"Has she been sleeping for very long?" Peter asked in a hushed whisper.

"Maybe for the last half an hour. She told me she hasn't eaten much today but I couldn't get her to eat anything; she kept saying that nothing appealed to her and that it hurt too much." Morgan answered, her voice soft.

"Is that normal? Should I be worried?"

"I don't think it's abnormal but I don't know that it's good either. If her stomach doesn't stop hurting soon, maybe you should consider taking her to the hospital, or maybe even calling the doctor."

"Good plan." Peter nodded and he and Morgan both tensed as Riley stirred slightly.

"I'm going to head over to Sonny's mom's place and get Michael. I'll be out of your way, and your house, in a second." Morgan smiled and turned her back to the couple. She made her way to the door, pausing inside the frame to glance back at the two of them.

Riley was waking up and Peter had leaned down, slipping his arms around her to hold her close. Morgan let out a contented sigh and turned around to face forward one more time and that's when it happened; that's when Riley let out an ear-piercing cry.

Whipping back around to face Riley and Peter, Morgan's eyes widened at the sight. Riley had tossed the blankets to the side revealing blood, a lot more blood than she had seen in a while. This wasn't good; sure spotting was common in some pregnancies but this was bright red and staining the sheets of the bed.

"Oh fuck." Morgan muttered and rushed forward, ripping the covers off the bed and tossing them to the ground. "What the hell?"

"It hurts! Make it stop!" Riley shrieked and curled into a ball, burying her face into the pillows. "Please make it stop!"

"Morgan can you grab some towels and take them out to the car? I'll get her ready and meet you in the driveway. I'm taking her to the hospital-"

"I'm coming with you." Morgan cut Peter off and before either one of them had a chance to argue, Riley let out a heart-breaking sob, clutching her stomach as she did so.

"Let's go."

Morgan took off in a run and headed for the bathroom closet just inside the door. She pulled the closet doors open and grabbed hold of a bunch of towels off the top of the pile before turning around and taking off back into the bedroom, spotting Peter lifting Riley up off the bed and carrying her bridal style out into the hallway.

The three of them made their way to the front door, Morgan rushing ahead and pulling it open before letting Peter get outside, still carrying Riley as he headed for the car.

The evening air was chilly and it bit at her skin. It didn't slow her down though, she rushed right for Peter's vehicle, which was parked in the driveway, and grabbed hold of the door handle, desperately trying to get it open. She ripped the door open and threw the towels down on the passenger seat before heading right back into the house in search of her purse and her own car keys.

Peter made his way around the vehicle, still firmly carrying Riley in his arms. The girl was clutching her stomach and she had a blanket wrapped around her, almost like a cocoon, which she had grabbed off the bed when Peter had initially lifted her up into his arms. Struggling slightly, he managed to get Riley into the front seat of the car, watching as she laid the seat down and curled into yet another ball.

At the sight of Morgan getting into her own car and turning it on, Peter halted in his movements and stared at her.

"Hey, you can come with us." Peter called out to her and Morgan was in total agreement. She made her way out of her car, slammed the door shit and ran over to the backseat of Peter's vehicle, hopping into the back and immediately reaching into the front seat and running her hand over Riley's back.

He hesitated for a second longer before he closed the passenger side door and jogged around the front of the car, climbing in to the driver's side. When Morgan leaned back in the seat and let out a sigh, Peter readied himself to drive off, backing out onto the road and heading to the hospital in one vehicle, frantically hoping that everything would be okay.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

"Where's Ry?" Morgan questioned as she came jogging in the doors marked 'emergency'. Once they had arrived at the hospital, Peter had taken Riley inside while Morgan was left to park the car. It was only about ten minutes since Morgan had watched him carry her inside but Riley was already nowhere to be seen.

"They uh, they took her, down the hall somewhere." Peter stumbled over his words but looked at Morgan, a scared look on his face. "I just, I shouldn't have…I should've been there with her today, she should've called me."

"She thought maybe I could be more helpful since I've been pregnant before." Morgan offered and took a step towards him, not entirely sure whether a hug would help him or not. "Peter it's not your fault, whatever is happening isn't because of something you did or didn't do."

"I don't know what's happening." Peter mumbled and dropped his gaze to the floor. Without a second thought, Morgan rushed forward and enveloped him into a warm embrace. He clung to her, she felt him tense slightly, and she ran her hands up and down his back in a lame attempt to comfort him.

"Ry's strong, she'll be okay." Morgan said softly and Peter relaxed the slightest little bit.

"And the baby?"

"I don't know Peter, that was a lot of blood."

After a few more seconds of clinging to her, Peter slowly peeled himself away from Morgan before shoving his hands into his pockets. Morgan flashed him a sympathetic smile and motioned towards the chairs just a little bit further down the hall. He shook his head and paced across the hallway before turning around and letting his back connect with the wall.

"You don't have to stay." Peter stated.

"She's my best friend Peter, I'm going to stay." Morgan countered, her tone firm and commanding.

A blanket of silence fell over them and they remained quiet for a good ten minutes. When a pair of footsteps echoed in the vacant hallway, both of them turned their heads towards the source and spotted a woman dressed in scrubs approaching them. Thank god someone was finally coming out to talk to them because he didn't know what he'd do if he had to wait much longer.

"Stone?" The woman questioned and Peter pushed himself away from the wall, moving closer to the woman. "Riley Stone, she's your-"

"Wife." Peter finished for the woman and Morgan quickly moved to stand beside him.

"Okay well we're just about to do an ultrasound to see if we can't figure out what's going on-"

"So the baby's okay?" Morgan cut in.

"Well that's one of the things we'll be looking for is the heartbeat."

"Oh well is Ry okay?" Morgan prodded and slipped her hands around Peter's arm, holding on to him as if to signify that Peter wasn't going to get to go anywhere without her. Riley was her friend, the sister she never had, there wasn't any way she wasn't going to stick by her in her time of need.

"We've managed to calm her down, as far as we can tell at this point, she'll be fine, our priority has moved to the baby."

"Can we see her?" Morgan asked.

"Yes, of course. If you'll follow me, I can take you to the room where the ultrasound will be performed."

Morgan ran her hands down Peter's forearm and carefully took hold of his hand. Peter held on tight and moved forward alongside Morgan as the woman led them down the hall. No one said a word, they merely followed the woman and when she opened a large, wooden door, the two of them stepped inside, still clinging to each other's hands.

"Ry!" Morgan let go of Peter and rushed forward, stepping up beside her friend, who was propped up on an examination table. Peter quickly took up residence on the other side of Riley.

"Hi." She murmured and reached out, trying to grab onto Peter. "I'm sorry."

"No, no you don't have anything to be sorry for." Peter countered and leaned down, pressing a sweet little kiss to her forehead. Tears welled up in Riley's eyes and Morgan brushed her hair away from her face, trying not to cry herself.

"I should've just eaten." Riley muttered and clung to Peter's hand, pulling him closer to her. She buried her face against his chest and he continued to press kisses to her forehead, his fingertips gently running over her knuckles.

"There was nothing you could have done to prevent anything." The woman broke in. "Sometimes these things happen without explanation. In fact, your baby _could_ be perfectly fine, we just have to see if we can't find a heartbeat."

"Yeah, yeah we have to do that." Morgan nodded. She lifted her butt up and sat down on the table next to her friend, running her hand over Riley's shoulder in a gesture of comfort, but also to give Morgan something to do with her hands, to occupy her and set her focus on trying to comfort Riley instead of freaking out herself.

The three of them were huddled together, Peter pressing kisses to her forehead and murmuring that it wasn't her fault, but Riley was breathing hard, like she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. She was bordering on a panic attack and Peter was trying his best to keep her calm, or calm enough that she wouldn't break down into a full-blown attack.

Sucking in a breath, Morgan glanced over at the woman and locked her eyes on the machine. Black and white swirls filled the screen and Morgan furrowed her brow as she watched, knowing that Peter and Riley weren't going to want to bear witness to this particular ultrasound.

"Anything?" Morgan asked in a low tone and the woman shook her head no.

"I want to go home." Riley whined and twisted her upper body slightly, her hands wrapping around Peter's shoulders.

"Soon Ry." Peter murmured back and held on to her.

An eerie calm, apart from the ultrasound throwing out random noises here and there, fell over them all and Morgan could feel the tenseness in Riley's body easily. Morgan glanced at the couple, curled together, hanging on to each other, and prayed that the woman would find something, anything to signify that the baby was okay.

"...still looking…" The woman muttered to herself and Morgan pulled away from them now, her hand still running over Riley's shoulders but she wasn't huddled up with them anymore, no she was staring at the screen, daring it to show her anything.

"Please, please, please." Morgan whispered and crossed her arms over her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut and listened.

"Maybe if we just…" The woman's voice carried through the room but it was quickly lost by the sudden gasp that the woman let out. "Okay, no…nothing…"

Morgan's eyes popped open and she merely stared at the woman working the ultrasound machine. She had to be wrong, she just _had_ to be. There was no way that Riley wasn't pregnant, not after all the troubles she had gone through just to get to this point. When the woman turned to look at them though, Morgan felt her heart drop.

Riley's entire body tensed and the tears filled her eyes, wondering what she had done wrong, what had she done to deserve this? Peter pulled his eyes away from Riley long enough to look at Morgan, seeing the sadness on her face, before going right back to focusing on Riley, who's tears were running down her cheeks by this point.

"No." Riley's voice was soft and scared as she stared straight ahead, her eyes locked on the ultrasound screen. "No please."

"I'm…I'm so sorry." The woman bowed her head and stopped with the ultrasound, giving Riley a somber look. "I believe you've had a miscarriage."

"No." Riley repeated and whimpered at the thought. "Please don't say that…"

"Ry." Peter murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "Riley…"

"I'm so sorry." The woman merely repeated her words from earlier and made a move to stand up. "We'll have to do some follow up tests and make sure…make sure that there's nothing dangerous going on..."

"Thank you." Peter replied, but he wasn't entirely sure what he was thankful for. Riley was falling to pieces in his hold and there was nothing he could do for her. Their baby, the baby they had tried so hard for, was no longer with them.

"I'll just uh, leave you three alone for a few minutes."

The woman stood up and made her way out of the room, the door clicking shut behind her. Morgan let out a sigh and ran her hands through Riley's hair one last time before heading for the door as well, her and Peter deserved a minute alone _without_ her, she would give them that much, and call Sonny to let him know while she was gone.

Riley straightened up and stared at the door as it fell closed after Morgan had left, she then turned towards Peter and dropped her head down. He moved in to hug her and felt her hands on his back, balling into fists by his shoulders.

When she began to sob, all he could do was hold her tight and try his hardest to let her know that he was right there with her, hurting just as much as she was.


	32. Chapter 32

Sonny had come to pick Morgan up at the hospital and together the two of them had headed back to Riley and Peter's place. She knew what she had to do so when Sonny pulled into the driveway, Morgan immediately headed for the house and went right for the bedroom, stripping down the bed sheets and throwing them in the washing machine in the hopes that she could get most of the blood out.

Sonny had carried Michael up the stairs in his carrier and set it on the bed while he fished around for some more comfortable clothes for both Peter and Riley. When Morgan wandered back into the bedroom, her arms occupied with a clean set of bedsheets, she let out a soft sigh and leaned against the side of the doorframe, looking at Sonny as he made a small pile of clothes on the bare mattress next to their slumbering son.

"How was she when you left?" Sonny asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them since he had initially picked her up at the hospital. Morgan had been waiting outside the doors with a solemn look on her face and all she had done was let out a soft groan as she climbed into the car, peeking back to get a look at her baby. "I sort of talked to Stone but he didn't say much, other than I'm supposed to make sure his work is taken care of for tomorrow."

"Oh." Morgan bowed her head and took her bottom lip in between her teeth. "Yeah, makes sense, he was pretty rattled when I left, as for Riley, she's uh…I don't know if devastated is a strong enough word."

"That bad huh?"

"Yeah." Morgan nodded, bringing her head up to look at Sonny, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. "Poor girl's been trying forever to get pregnant and now it's just…she's just _not_."

Sonny wandered over towards his wife and gingerly took the sheets from her hold, tossing them towards the bed and watching as they landed up near the pillows. He then took her in his arms and held her tightly, trying to reassure her that it was okay, everything was going to be okay. Morgan was saddened by the events of the day too and Sonny had no idea what she was truly thinking.

He was scared to know what was going through her head, but he knew that talking about it would be better for her than bottling it up inside.

"This stuff happens." Sonny murmured, pressing a sweet little kiss to the side of her head. She felt her body relax in his hold and she lifted her arms up, hugging him back tight. "Through no fault of Riley's."

"Try telling her that." Morgan mumbled but didn't let go of him. She let him hold her and after a good amount of time, she reluctantly peeled herself away from him, putting space between them and looking into his eyes. His palms gently rested against her jawline and his thumbs brushed away the tears that were streaking her cheeks.

"It'll hurt for a while but Riley's strong." Sonny remarked. "She can get through this."

Morgan wasn't so sure, not this time at least. Being pregnant, having a baby of her own, was something Riley had wanted for a long time and she had tried so hard. It didn't matter though, for whatever cruel reason, fate was having none of it. Riley was a good person, she deserved to have a child of her own.

So what was stopping her? What was the reason why she couldn't have a baby? Had she done something bad in a previous life and was being punished now? Was there some big, bad secret she had kept from Morgan that warranted a punishment such as not being able to have a baby?

No matter the scenario Morgan thought up, she knew that her friend had shit rotten luck. There was no reason for this devastation, and all Morgan could do was clean up the mess, literally, and take her some clothes that she could change into later.

"What if that was me, what if I was the one who had to go to the hospital only to find out that I had lost our baby?" Morgan questioned, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "What if I couldn't have kids?"

"You can though." Sonny pointed out and motioned towards the baby residing in the carrier on the bed. "So don't you start playing the 'what if' game Mo because that shit will eat you up. We're lucky that we have Michael, so don't go there."

"Yeah, okay, you're right." Morgan sighed in response.

"I love you, and our _son_ so much."

She pressed her lips together and gave him a firm nod of her head. He was right, she didn't have to play that game because she already had a baby and if that was the only baby she _did_ have, then she would be all the more grateful for it because she knew there was always a possibility that she could wind up like Riley.

Her friend was in so much pain, and it was more than just physical. She had been so happy when she informed Morgan of the great news and now it was over, in the blink of an eye, her happiness had disintegrated and turned to sadness- no, it was _more_ than sadness.

Morgan couldn't even come up with a word for how Riley was feeling.

"Let's get this bed made, then one of us can swing by the hospital. We can meet back at the house." Sonny suggested, giving her arm a gentle squeeze before turning towards the bed.

He wandered close enough to grab hold of Michael's carrier before lifting it up carefully and setting it on the floor near the wall. Morgan followed his lead and picked out the fitted sheet from the pile before dropping the rest to the floor by her feet. Her arms went up in the air with the sheet in her hold and it flowed open, Sonny grabbing the one side while she hung on to the other, together, the two of them made the bed.

When the sheets were all on and the comforter was spread out, pillows in place too, Morgan went right for Michael and crouched down, checking on him. It was late at night and the boy was clearly tired, plus he had been in the car prior to being brought into the house, the car always seemed to lull him to sleep. She didn't wake him and made her way back to her feet before hauling him up into her hold.

"Sonny?" Morgan turned to face him and he held the extra clothes in his arms. "Can you see if you can find Ry's Yankee bear?"

"Uh?" He tilted his head sideways and Morgan let out a low chuckle before sauntering over to Riley's side of the bed. She bent down cautiously and reached into the hollowed-out portion of the nightstand, wrapping her hand around the bear in question and hauling it out by the neck. "Yankee bear, I see what you mean now."

"Literally." Morgan smiled at him and set the stuffed bear into the carrier with Michael, who was undisturbed by the action. Once she was set and ready to go the two of them headed down the stairs, Sonny stopping in the kitchen to throw the clothes into a plastic bag.

Together they went to the driveway and without words, Sonny took Michael while Morgan grabbed the bear and the clothes, the two of them planning to go their separate ways. Sonny had to go to work the next morning and cover Peter's work on top of his own. Morgan was more concerned with her friend and since she didn't have to be at work _as_ early, she would be the one to take the stuff to the hospital, then she'd meet Sonny back at home.

Wordlessly, they parted and climbed into their vehicles, Sonny leaving first with Michael in his possession. Morgan hesitated in the driveway and waited until she couldn't see Sonny anymore before letting out a low sigh.

Sure, he had told her not to play the 'what if' game but it's all she found herself doing. It was a terrible thought, the idea of losing a baby like Riley had. Morgan felt bad for her friend, she was in pain at the thought of Riley having to go through all that, to be so excited one day and so utterly ruined the next.

Arriving at the hospital, Morgan parked the car and climbed out, making sure she had the things that she had brought for them. With the teddy bear in one hand and the bag of clothes in the other, Morgan wandered through the hospital, heading right for where she had left Riley.

Wandering into the dim room, she held her breath and immediately spotted Peter sitting in a chair next to the hospital bed holding Riley. He was looking at her, but Morgan could tell within seconds that she was out cold, whether from the chaotic emotions or from something the hospital might've given her, she didn't know.

"I brought you some clothes." Morgan whispered, stepping into the room and lowering herself down in the empty chair next to Peter. He nodded his thanks and took the bag from Morgan's hand, but his eyes were locked on Riley, who, even in sleep, looked desolated. "She's sleeping, I, uh, I guess I wasn't really expecting that."

"She had a panic attack after you left. It was pretty bad, so the doctor offered to give her something to calm her down and she took it, now here we are; she's sleeping like a baby…"

"Sort of funny." Morgan supplied with a forced smile. Yeah, the word had caught her off guard but it wasn't like he had intentionally said it, it was just a saying, a phrase that was common, and honestly, it applied to Riley.

"Bad choice of words." Peter let out with a sigh. "I wish I was offered some drugs too, then I could be sleeping just like her."

"Yeah but she's eventually going to have to wake up." Morgan said. "I can't imagine that's going to be easy for her."

"Not even a little bit." Peter replied. He sucked in a breath and shifted closer to the bed, slipping his free hand onto the top of Riley's. She didn't move, and he thanked the heavens above for that. Her sleeping meant a little more time for him to spend alone with his thoughts.

He knew it was going to be hard for Riley, but it was hard for him too. He had been with her every step of the way, he had wanted this as bad as Riley, but he knew she would definitely take it harder. She had been dealing with her issues for a lot longer.

Morgan leaned over and took his free hand in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze, "if you want, you can go home, maybe have a shower, grab something to eat. I can stay with her for a while and keep her company, I can call you when she wakes up."

He shook his head no and gave her hand a squeeze back. His eyes raked over Riley's body and when Morgan leaned forward and placed the Yankees bear on the bed beside her, he couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. Morgan relaxed back in the chair and looked sideways at Peter, who finally tore his eyes away from Riley to meet her gaze.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Peter asked softly. "Where are we supposed to go from here?"

Morgan shrugged, "honestly, I don't know, just give her some time before you cross that bridge maybe?"

With a nod of his head, a silence fell over them that neither of them tried to break, Morgan merely watching her friend as she slumbered, Peter doing the same while both of them silently prayed that things would be okay.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley was at home, in the bed that Morgan and Sonny had been nice enough to clean up for them. Morgan had even washed the sheets, putting them in a folded pile on the top of Peter's dresser for whenever he felt the need to change them back. For now though, Riley was tucked under the covers, her teddy bear clutched against her chest and her body curled into a ball. Peter had been laying next to her for close to two hours by this point but he knew that he had to get up and do something other than lay in his bed next to a silent Riley.

She didn't seem to want to talk, not that he could blame her, but she also didn't seem to want to even look at him, like this was somehow his fault. He wasn't going to press her on it though, she was clearly upset and considering she was prone to panic attacks, he wasn't going to try to talk to her until she seemed ready; when that would be though, he had no idea.

There were so many questions that he had for her, but he knew it was too soon to ask her things like; did she want to try in vitro again, or did she want to move away from that and consider other options? Asking her things like that, at _this_ point in time, seemed cruel, especially so soon after their loss.

Riley would come around eventually, but for now he'd leave her alone and let her grieve.

Moving on the bed, he twisted his body to the edge of the bed and shifted away from her, planting his feet on the ground. He hesitated though and peered over his shoulder at her figure. She had turned her head to see what he was doing and when Peter's eyes met hers, she immediately shied away.

"You feeling okay?" Peter asked, daring to speak to her but fearful of her answer.

"Everything aches but it's fine." She replied and let out a yawn. "Where are you going?"

Pausing, he turned all the way around and faced her, wondering if he should just stay with her. She was clearly hurting, more than just physically, but she wasn't ready to talk about it. Fine with him, he wasn't totally ready to talk about it either, even though there were so many things he was itching to know.

"I was going to do some work." Peter answered.

"Oh."

"I can stay."

Riley sucked in a breath and slowly struggled her way into a sitting position, the teddy bear hugged tight against her chest. She let out a soft sigh and looked down at the covers. She didn't know what she was feeling at that moment other than angry. Her body hurt but it was like her heart couldn't connect with her head. She knew she was saddened by what had happened, but she also wasn't sure she accepted it. She was mad that she had lost her baby after trying so hard just to get pregnant in the first place.

What was the point of this? Why had she gotten pregnant only to end up losing it weeks later? Was it her fault, had _she_ done something wrong? She was mad at the world, but she was also mad at herself.

"You don't have to stay with me every second." Riley said, her voice soft.

"I want to."

"I'm literally just laying here." She pointed out with a scoff. "You can go work if you want, in fact, if you want to go _to_ work for a little while, I'd be okay with that too."

Peter's eyes narrowed in on her and she forced a smile onto her face. He knew it wasn't genuine because it didn't reach her eyes, but the fact that she was trying to talk to him, to let him know she didn't need him by her side every second of every day, was somewhat reassuring. At the very least, if she was talking to him, she wasn't falling into a catatonic state, which had been a fear of his.

"And just leave you here?"

"I'm a grown ass woman."

"Who suffered a pretty big trauma." Peter pointed out, the words flooding out of his mouth before he could really stop them. He stared at Riley, waiting for her to break down, to start crying or worse; have a panic attack. She didn't though, she merely looked at him, studying him.

"I probably should've expected it." She huffed. "Why would I be able to actually stay pregnant when, up until this time, I've never even been able to _get_ pregnant."

"I don't…" He trailed off, unsure of what to say to her.

"Just…don't feel like you have to stay by my side Peter." Riley carried on. "You can go work downstairs or you can go to your office and work there, whatever you want to do."

"Riley, are you sure?"

"Honestly, I could do with a little time without you attached to my hip." She teased and stuck her tongue out at him. Huh, well, when she put it that way, she probably would benefit from some time away from him. He hadn't been much further than an arm's length away since arriving at the hospital.

At least with him gone, she'd maybe be able to process the whole miscarriage without having to worry about how he was going to react. Being alone, even if it was just long enough for him to run to his office and grab some files, might be good for her. He leaned in, shifting closer to her on the bed, and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. Riley loosened her grip on the teddy bear and slipped her arms around his middle, hugging him instead.

It was nice, Peter was warm and comforting when all she had held onto since arriving home had been the bear. An inanimate object had been providing her comfort all along when she had a loving husband in Peter Stone. Sucking in a breath, she hesitantly released him and gave his leg a rough pat, signaling that he was good to go.

"If you need me, you call." Peter instructed and she gave him a nod of her head. "Anything, okay? Even if you just want me to come home."

"I will."

"Okay." Peter bowed his head and seriously considered not leaving. He needed a distraction though and work seemed like the best option. He could easily run to the office, grab some stuff and come back, all within an hour. She would be okay, she _had_ to be okay, because eventually they'd have to talk about what their next move was.

"Seriously." Riley widened her eyes at him, wondering why he wasn't jumping at the opportunity. Peter pressed another quick kiss to the side of her head and practically hopped off the bed, heading out of the bedroom, leaving her there all on her own.

She let out a sigh and merely listened to the noises coming from down the stairs. Reaching over to her nightstand, she grabbed hold of her phone and looked at the screen, seeing that her mom had texted her to see how she was doing.

Well that wasn't really a surprise, Riley's mother loved her, she cared about her, so her asking how she was doing made sense. What didn't make sense was the sudden urge to get out of the house, out of the bed where it had all happened and go to her mother.

Was she crazy? Was she absolutely insane?

All she wanted to do was get the hell out of the house and feel her mother hugging her.

When she heard the front door shut, Riley straightened up and threw the covers off of her. Before she could think twice, she climbed out of the bed and went in search of a pair of sweatpants, pulling them on over her pajama shorts. She then looked for a sweater and pulled it on, zipping it up and stuffing her hands into the pockets.

She rolled her shoulders back, freed her hands from the pockets and grabbed the phone, which had been discarded on the bed. Heading down the stairs, she made her way to the front door where she slipped on a pair of running shoes, grabbed her purse and the keys, then headed out the door to the car left in the driveway.

Riley unlocked the car and hoisted herself in, settling into the seat and closing the door. She gripped the steering wheel and blew out a sigh.

Was she really ready to just drive to Boston to see her mother? Was a phone call not sufficient enough?

Turning the key in the ignition, she started the car and backed out onto the road, hoping that she'd figure out what she really wanted out of seeing her mother.

She had just over three hours to come up with some sort of answer. She also had three hours to be alone with her thoughts.

She didn't know what was scarier?

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Peter had been longer at his office than he intended but he hadn't figured he'd been gone long enough for Riley to have left the house. She was nowhere to be seen; without a note, or a text. Where had she gone?

Why hadn't she called him if there was something she needed?

Peter wandered around the house but pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and shot off a text to her, asking where she was. He waited a few minutes for a reply, giving her leeway in case she was driving, but when ten minutes went by and still no reply, he dialed her cell number and lifted the phone to his ear.

It rang four times before going to voicemail, which meant she wasn't deliberately ignoring his call right off the bat, but what was going on, where was she and why wasn't she exactly where he had left her?

Peter ended the call and tried once more, but when he still didn't get an answer, he immediately called Morgan. She answered on the second ring, which Peter was thankful for.

"What's up Peter?" Morgan quipped right from the get go and he winced at her chipper tone. If she was with Riley, things must've been going well, which only deepened his worry. He highly doubted that Morgan would be answering so cheerfully if she was with Riley.

"Do you know where Ry is?" He asked, not wasting any time in getting to the point. Maybe if he put Morgan on the case, she'd end up lucky enough to figure it out before he got to the point where he was well and truly scared for Riley. "I ran to my office and when I came back, she was just gone."

"What?" Morgan's voice went from happy to panicked in a split second. "What do you mean she's gone?"

"Her car's gone, so I'm guessing she left, but she's not replying to my text nor is she answering her phone." Peter explained but Morgan felt her heart starting to pick up in speed. Riley wasn't the type of person who didn't not answer her phone- unless she was someplace where she couldn't.

Where would she have gone? Or maybe she was driving, but still, why would she have felt the need to drive anywhere? The last Morgan had heard from her, she had been holed up in her room trying to come to terms with what had happened. Had something more happened to her and she had felt the need to go to the hospital?

If that was the case though, surely she would've told someone; either Peter or Morgan.

"Would she have gone to work?" Morgan posed and Peter let out a low groan. No, Riley hadn't seemed like she had been thinking about work at all, she had made no mention of it, plus, Peter didn't want to call her boss and end up worrying people, not yet anyways. Surely there was a reasonable explanation as to where she was.

"Doubtful." Peter answered. "What about friends?"

"Peter, I'm her best friend, if she was going to see anyone, she'd come and see me."

"You have a baby." Peter blurted out. Oh dear Jesus, he was right, she did have a baby, and Riley had just lost hers. Maybe being so confident in her exclamation was premature. Riley probably wasn't ready to face seeing her baby boy, not when she was still so raw, so upset. "I didn't mean to sound harsh."

"No, no you're right." Morgan breathed the words out. "Have you talked to her mom? Maybe she knows where she is?"

"Right, yeah, okay, I'll call Audrey and see, then I'll call you back and let you know?"

"Please."

Morgan ended the phone call without waiting for him to say goodbye. As soon as he could, Peter dialed Audrey's number and pressed the phone back to his ear, listening as it rang a total of three times before his mother-in-law's voice came on the line.

"Hello?"

"Hey Audrey, it's Peter." Peter stated. "I'm uh, I was wondering if you've heard from Riley lately?"

Audrey let out a low hum and Peter tensed at the thought. If Audrey hadn't heard from Riley, he wasn't sure where he was going to try next. He didn't know many of her friends from work, and yet again, he didn't want to alarm anyone if there was nothing to worry about. Riley had taken the car so she had left out of her own free will, right?

But that didn't make him feel any better, no, because he still had no idea where she was.

"I texted her a few hours ago." Audrey answered. "Not since then though. Is everything alright?"

Peter shook his head but quickly realized that the woman couldn't see him, "no, it's not. I left Riley at home to run to the office and when I got back, she was gone."

"Gone?"

"She's gone, the car's gone, I tried to call her but she didn't answer- I'm worried about her."

Audrey let out a soft sigh on the other end of the line and Peter tensed at the sound. He prayed that she would have a lead for him, she had to know something about her daughter, someplace that Riley would go. He didn't have anything else to go on- well that wasn't true, he could maybe try getting a hold of her dad but he doubted she'd go anywhere near him, not when he hadn't even been invited to the wedding.

Perhaps Audrey knew of some other family member though, someone else that Riley might turn to?

"Peter, I'm sure she's fine." Audrey's voice was soothing but it didn't really quell his worries. Where the hell was Riley? How could she just up and leave without letting him know where she was going? And then to not even answer her phone- god he was growing angrier with each passing second that he didn't hear back from her. "But if I hear anything from her, you'll be the first one I call."

"Thanks." Peter let out a low growl and ended the phone call. He debated calling Morgan back but sent her a text message instead. Once that was done, he tried one more time to get through to Riley but this time it went to voicemail after just one ring. He was starting to get frustrated at her because he didn't know where she was, or if she was okay.

There was nothing standing between her and another panic attack and he hated the idea that she was out there by herself, without him to look out for her. She was broken, hurting and in pain, and now she was alone.

Why had she left? Why hadn't she just waited for him to come back and talk to him?

Peter wasn't sure what he was going to do but he'd give her a little bit more time to return his calls; he just hoped she was okay.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley let out a long sigh as she pulled into her mother's driveway. She wasn't sure what her grand plan was but now that she was here, now that she was in Boston, she knew there was no turning back. Climbing out of the car, Riley wandered to the front step and stood there, sucking in a breath, holding it for a few seconds and then letting it out. She could feel her heart pounding inside her chest and found herself wondering why she was so anxious.

She was just here to visit her mother, so why was she nearing a fit of panic.

Slowly and carefully, she brought her hand up and knocked, not expecting the door to open so quickly. When she saw her mom standing there though, she took a step back, the wild look in Audrey's eye had her on edge. Uh oh, that look was never good, not for Riley, or her rising panic.

She held her breath and tried to calm her thoughts. This was her mother, she would love her no matter what, even if she looked at her like a wild animal looked at prey.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" Audrey leveled her daughter with a fixed look and Riley immediately threw up her hands in a defensive manner. "Your husband is going frantic looking for you."

"What?" Riley countered, dropping her hands to her sides. Peter was…he was frantic?

"He called me, asked me if I had heard from you because you were just gone."

"Oh." Riley had the decency to drop her gaze to her feet in embarrassment. Okay, so maybe she hadn't thought it through that much, she had actually forgotten about Peter not knowing she was heading to her mother's, but now that she was aware of his franticness, she was starting to feel really, really guilty.

"You weren't answering your phone." Audrey pointed out.

Riley pulled her phone from her pocket and looked at the screen, her eyes widening at the number of missed calls from both Peter and Morgan, even a couple from her own mother. She had more texts messages from the three of them and suddenly her stomach dropped.

Oh god, she hadn't meant to cause Peter to worry, she just…she just wanted to see her mother, she wanted to get out of the house and away from the bed where everything had gone wrong, she needed some time to herself. This was bad though, this was beyond what she had planned.

"You call that boy right now Riley." Audrey commanded and Riley meekly nodded before doing just that.

She pressed the phone against her ear and remained on the front step of her mother's house, waiting for Peter to pick up. When he did, she could hear in his voice how truly worried he was about her and her heart dropped into her stomach. Good lord what _had_ she done?

"My god Riley, where _are_ you? Are you okay?" Peter _was_ frantic and she felt her whole body tense at the sound.

"I didn't mean to scare you." She murmured, her voice barely audible.

"Riley, please tell me you're okay?" He pleaded and she sucked in a breath, meeting her mother's hard stare.

"I'm safe. I guess I'm as good as I can be considering." She paused and sucked in an anxious breath. "I'm actually in Boston."

"Boston?"

"Yeah." She let out a sigh. "I came to see my mom."

"Riley-"

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry."

"Riley please talk to me here?"

"I'll call you later." She whispered and ended the call, looking directly at her mother. Her eyes welled up with tears and before Audrey could say another word, Riley flung herself forward and buried herself in her mother's hold.

Audrey led her into the house, shutting the door behind her before feeling Riley collapsed against her, the two of them slowly moving to the ground. Riley's back was against the door and Audrey shifted so that she was sitting beside her daughter, her arm around her shoulders as she hugged her for comfort.

"Oh baby girl." Audrey cooed and Riley buried her face into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry that all this shit happened to you."

Riley didn't say a word in response, instead, she let her phone fall to the floor and held on to her mother tighter, not wanting to let her go. She clung to her and felt herself tensing at the thought of leaving Peter behind in New York.

He didn't deserve this from her, he didn't deserve to be treated as an afterthought but honestly, at the time she had left, all she had wanted to do was get to her mother. Peter Stone was a god send to her and now she felt even worse about herself than she already did.

"Riley, you'll be okay."

Letting out a sob, she ran her hand through her hair and swiped at the tears streaming down her face. Audrey let out a soft sigh and rested her chin on top of Riley's head, running her hand up and down her back in a lame attempt to soothe her daughter.

"Mom…I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"I don't know, everything." Riley cried out and she pulled out of her mom's hold, wrapping her arms around her knees instead. Her chin resided on her kneecaps and she stared straight ahead, wondering how anyone could even like her at this point in time. She had up and left Peter at home without a note or a text to let him know what she was planning, then she had just shown up at her mother's house, three hours away, without warning.

What if her mother had plans that didn't involve her? What if Audrey didn't let her stay there? It was a long drive back to New York and Riley wasn't ready to make that trip again and be left alone with her thoughts for _another_ three hours.

"Be sorry for giving your poor guy a heart attack but other than that, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"It's my fault though."

"The baby?" Audrey pressed, Riley merely nodded her head, fearful of vocalizing her answer. "Honey, that was _not_ your fault. Sometimes women just miscarry, for whatever reason. It wasn't meant to be for you this time."

"This time…" Riley repeated her mother's last words and shook her head. "I don't think there's going to be a _next_ time."

Audrey reached out and set her palm on Riley's knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. She wasn't sure what exactly her daughter was thinking but she knew that she'd be alright eventually. She was a great woman, she had an amazing man, and from what Audrey could see, her and Peter had a pretty decent relationship. She just hoped Riley hadn't scared him away by running off to Boston without a single word of warning.

"That's for you to decide Riley. You can try to get pregnant again whichever way you want, or you can stop trying and move on to other options." Audrey supplied. "You know, when I was younger, I couldn't get pregnant either but your father stuck by me while we went through all sorts of methods to try. We looked into adoption at one point because it just wasn't happening, hell Riley, I've had a couple miscarriages of my own."

"What?" Riley stared sideways at her.

"I've been where you are, twice actually." Audrey carried on. "Miscarrying- well it's one of the worst feelings in the world and I blamed myself for it too, until I went to a counselor and realized that nothing I could've done would've changed anything."

"Really?"

"Riley, sometimes bad things happen for no explainable reason. You can't blame yourself for something that you can't control."

She took her mother's words to heart and let them sink in. She still felt guilty but she also felt sort of relieved. Her mother had gone through the same thing and she had turned out okay, plus she _had_ eventually gotten pregnant- wait, had she?

"Mom?"

"I wouldn't change a thing because all that pain, the miscarriages, they led me to you."

"I'm not adopted though, right?" Riley pointed out but cocked her head sideways. "Mom, am I?"

"No, you're all mine." Audrey said with a laugh. "You were my last round of in vitro. I swore if it hadn't worked that time, then I was done, I'd look into adoption."

"But it worked."

"It did, and I got you." Audrey let out a soft sigh. "But there's nothing wrong with adoption."

Riley tilted her head sideways and wondered what her mother was going to say next. She hadn't known the details about her mother's fertility issues, but she had known that it hadn't come easy to her either. Maybe this trip wasn't a waste after all.

"I just wanted a baby so bad." Riley confessed.

"I know that feeling, but just because you adopt someone else's baby, doesn't make it any less _your_ child."

Huh, well, maybe she had a point, maybe adopting a kid wasn't such a bad idea after all. Riley hadn't really looked at it the way her mother was explaining it, but there wasn't anything wrong with raising a child that someone else had given birth too.

"What do you think I should do from here?"

Audrey sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, trying to gather her thoughts before she just blurted out her answer. She knew Riley was in a fragile state but she knew her daughter was strong and she could get through this. She just needed the right guidance.

"I think you do what's right for you. Honestly though, adoption is just as good as having a baby of your very own." Audrey offered up.

"Yeah?"

"There's so many kids out there, all ages, that need parents. Adopting one of them would be noble, you'd be giving them a chance." Audrey carried on. "No one would think less of you just because they're not biologically your child."

Letting out a soft sigh, Riley leaned sideways and fell against her mother, who's arm moved around her shoulder once again. Was adoption really something she wanted?

She hadn't really given it much thought, not really. But it sounded like an okay solution, she just needed to talk to Peter, see where he stood on the matter- oh god, Peter! Riley had barely given him a second thought since she had hung up on him but he had been worried about her and she had just run off, then shut him out.

"Whatever you do though, you do it with the man who loves you." Audrey smiled and pressed a reassuring kiss to the top of her head. Riley let out a shaky breath and nodded her understanding. Peter and her needed to figure out what they were going to do together, and as soon as she got home, she'd sit down and lay it all out for him.

She wasn't sure she was ready to give up on getting pregnant just yet, but she also wasn't totally sure she was prepared to wind up going through another miscarriage so soon. At least if she talked to him about adopting, they could maybe come up with a decent plan on where they wanted to go next, right?

"I shouldn't have just left." Riley admitted. "That was shitty of me."

"Peter Stone loves you, just make sure you admit to him that you were wrong to run away."

"I wasn't running…" Riley trailed off but let out a low growl. "Okay fine, I was running away, but it wasn't like I planned it."

"He'll probably forgive you."

"Probably?" Riley's eyes widened at the idea of Peter not forgiving her. Oh god, what had she done? Why had she just decided to go to Boston without talking to him first? She had gone crazy, temporarily of course.

"Calm yourself, then call him." Audrey smirked. "Now, are you spending the night or what?"

Oh yes, sometimes a girl just needed her mother.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Peter was home, at least if the vehicle in the driveway was any indication. Riley couldn't help but wonder what the hell awaited her inside the house. She was nervous, but more importantly, she felt really, _really_ bad for what she had done. Peter had every right to be mad at her, frustrated with her actions; she just hoped that he would be patient and understanding enough to give her a chance to make it up to him.

She hadn't thought about the way it would've affected him when she up and left the day before, but as soon as her mother had appropriately scolded her and demanded she call Peter, she knew she should've handled things differently. At the very least, she should've let him know earlier that she was okay, that she hadn't had a mental break and had driven off to god only knows where.

She was home now though and when she got out of the car and slowly approached the door, she wasn't sure whether she should knock or just carry on inside. It was still her house, her _home_ but she wasn't sure what Peter was thinking-

"Why?"

The door was ripped open before she had a chance to contemplate anymore and Peter stood there, looking at her, demanding to know 'why'. Oh god, she had screwed up so bad, she hadn't meant to hurt him, she hadn't meant to cause him to worry, she honestly barely even knew _why_ she had wanted to leave in such a hurry. It had just seemed like a great idea at the time.

"Why?" She repeated his question and dropped her head down to her feet, ashamed to face him, ashamed at what she had done by leaving him without an explanation. "Uh, I just…I wanted to see my mom."

His expression softened at her confession and he stepped to the side, letting her walk into the house. The door shut behind her and she carried on into the kitchen, dropping down and sitting at the kitchen island. Peter had been alone for the entirety of the previous night but she had called him from Boston like she told him she would.

The conversation had been pretty light and she hadn't given him anything to help him understand why she had left, nor had he pushed her for answers. The two of them had pretty much been dancing around the real issue the night before. She just hoped that this wasn't beyond fixing because she loved him, more than anything, and she wasn't ready to give him up.

Peter sat down on the stool next to her and turned to face her head on. She looked at him, trying to read him, but he was stoic, so much so that she was scared of what he was going to say to her. This whole situation sucked, she was hurting in ways that she couldn't even explain, but Peter had lost a baby too. He was hurting just like she was, and she had monopolized the concern from outsiders.

"Did it help?" Peter asked and Riley's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Did seeing your mom help?"

With a slight nod, she broke eye contact, "she went through a miscarriage back in the day. She told me about how she was feeling, how much it hurt…"

A blanket of silence fell over them and she refused to bring her eyes back up to meet his. She didn't want to know what he was thinking because she wasn't sure she was prepared for him to speak to her. She had really caused him to worry, had thrown him into a panic, and she hadn't meant for that at all.

"I'm upset with you." Peter stated bluntly and she ran her hands over her thighs nervously. "Riley, please look at me."

Hesitantly, she brought her head up and met his eyes, tears welling up in her own.

"Are you _mad_ at me?" She whimpered.

Peter's hands reached out and took hold of hers, stopping their movements on her thighs. He drew her slightly closer to him and when she was within reach, he used one hand to gingerly rest against the side of her face, running his thumb over her cheek in a gesture of comfort.

"I…I _am_ mad, but that doesn't mean I don't love you, or that I stopped loving you in the time that you were gone." Peter said softly and she took her bottom lip in between her teeth. "I'm mad that you felt like you had to run to Boston and not just tell me where you were going. I'm mad because when I tried to call you, you didn't answer-"

"I was driving." Riley cut him off, but there was zero conviction in her voice. She wasn't really trying to give him an excuse, he just had to know that she hadn't intentionally ignored his calls.

"I get that but you still left without a single word as to where you were going. I called Morgan, I called your mother, no one knew where you were. Do you understand how terrifying that would be for me?"

She nodded her understanding, "yeah."

"Honestly I'm mostly mad at the whole situation." Peter confessed and blew out a breath. "Not at you in particular Riley, just at the fact that this is even happening."

She stiffened but found herself feeling like maybe this was a long time coming between them. She wanted to know how he was feeling, she wanted to hear him talk about his emotions regarding the loss of their baby, she wanted to know that he was right there with her, every step of the way, even if she had chosen to run away when she needed him the most.

"I shouldn't have run off though." She stated.

"I won't hold it against you." Peter forced a smile onto his face and she let out a sigh. "Just promise me that next time you have the sudden urge to go see your mom, let me know?"

Riley bowed her head, "yeah, that's the least I can do."

Yes, it was _definitely_ the least she could do. Instead of causing the one person she loved the most in the whole world to panic at the idea of not knowing where she was, she would simply tell him where she was heading and why. He deserved that much from her. She couldn't even begin to fathom how she would've reacted had the roles been reversed.

"Did it _really_ help?"

She pressed her lips together and nodded her head. It definitely had helped, she had found answers to questions she hadn't even considered until the previous day. Her mother was wise, wiser than Riley had given her credit for, and she had come home with a new found feeling on becoming a mother.

"It did."

Leaning back slightly, Peter pulled away from her and rested his one arm on the island. Riley stepped down off her stool and moved in closer to him, standing between his legs and looking directly into his eyes. Her arms rested against his shoulders and she closed the distance between them, her forehead against his.

Peter Stone was an incredibly patient man, especially when it came to her. She hated that she had put him through the worry that she had the night before, but she loved the fact that he was welcoming now that she had returned home. She loved him, with her whole entire heart.

"I want to talk to you about adoption." She said softly.

"Hmm?"

"I don't think I'm ready to give up trying to get pregnant but I don't want to go through in vitro anymore." She admitted. "I want us to be on the same page here."

Peter's eyes widened at her words and he closed the distance between them, quickly kissing her on the lips. He moved back but remained directly in front of her, searching her eyes for any sort of sign that she wasn't being honest with him. She wasn't lying, not even the tiniest bit; she was admitting that she wanted him to want the same things as her when it came to children.

"So what are you saying exactly, what's your plan?"

"We just carry on not using protection but look into finding a baby to adopt." Riley offered. "There are plenty of kids out there who need parents. We're parents who need a kid, it seems like a pretty good idea to me."

"You want to adopt? Really?" Peter pressed.

"Only if it's something you want." Riley affirmed.

He considered her statement and thought about it. Adopting sounded not so bad to him, but was it something he really wanted? At the very least, he could look into it with her, maybe they'd find a child that called out to them, maybe they could be parents after all, even if it was to a child that wasn't biologically theirs.

"I'm not against the idea." Peter finally responded and she took her bottom lip in between her teeth, but it was too late, she was already starting to smile. "We can look into what it entails anyways, go from there?"

She tightened her grip on him and felt his arms come around her, hugging her right back. She liked where this was going, she wanted to see what their future held, and if all they did was look into the steps for adopting, then so be it. He hadn't outright said no though, which was a good sign.

"I really am sorry I took off without telling you where I was going, I wasn't running away from you Peter, I was just…." She breathed the words out and Peter ran his hands up her sides before moving them down to grip lightly at her hips. "I was just so…so crazy and emotional and messed up. I think I was trying to run away from the pain and I'm just really, _really_ sorry."

"Apology accepted."

"Come on, I'm ready for bed."

"You literally just got home."

"I know, forgive me for wanting to lie down next to my husband."

Peter dropped his legs down, planting his feet on the floor. He hugged her tighter and she let out a contented sigh, melting into his embrace. When he loosened his grip on her, she leaned back slightly, tipping her head back to get a better look at his face.

"I'm really glad you're home." Peter whispered.

"Me too, there's nowhere else I'd rather be, and no one else I'd rather _be_ with."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

' _Whenever you take lunch, can you come see me at work'_

The text from Peter had thrown her off, Riley hadn't been expecting him to ask her to show up at his office, in fact, she had pretty much stopped showing up at his office the last little while because she knew he needed to do actual work while there. His office was his space and she had realized a long time ago that she needed to let him have that to himself.

Plus, she was married to him now, it's not like she had to show up in her sexiest heels and seduce him to win some bet- no that ship had sailed.

She saw him every night in their home, and boy was she glad for that. The idea of being married to a man like Peter Stone had never seemed like something she wanted, not until she met him, and even then, it had taken a lot of pushing on Morgan's end for her to agree to see him more than once.

Things had changed though, and she wouldn't deny that it was for the better. Having a serious boyfriend had been nice, when they had moved in together, it had been pretty amazing, and when they had finally gotten married, well, Riley would always look back on that fondly. Peter Stone was the perfect man for her.

He even supported the idea of adopting at this point in time. It hadn't taken him long to jump on the bandwagon, thank god for that. She wanted kids and she was starting to realize that she wanted them whether they were biologically hers and Peters or not. Her mother had made a good point, there were lots of kids out there who needed parents.

Many weeks had passed since the miscarriage, which is what Riley referred to it now that she had been to see a counselor a few times since. She was also back on her anti-anxiety medication and was feeling pretty decently. The counselor had helped a lot in letting her feel the things she had been feeling, even if she didn't know if it was the right feeling.

Wandering through the hallways towards Peter's office, she held her breath and wondered what the hell was so important that he needed her to come to his place of work to see him. Couldn't whatever it was wait until they were both at home- oh shit, unless it was something to do with the law. Was she in trouble? Was he going to serve her divorce papers?

"Stop it." She mumbled to herself and straightened up, shaking her head in an attempt to clear her mind. Peter loved her and if he had put up with her thus far, why would he decide he wanted a divorce?

When she approached his door, she paused and knocked, listening for him to call out to her. When his voice called her in, she pushed it open and stepped inside, shutting it behind her and closing them inside his office. His head lifted up from the laptop on his desk and a smile appeared on his face.

After all this time, she could still make him smile just by showing up.

"Sorry, I didn't…I would've been here earlier but we had…there was a deadline at work." Riley stumbled over her words and Peter gave her a firm nod before waving to the chair in front of his desk. She bypassed it completely and stepped around the end, taking a seat on his lap just like old times.

When his arms came around her middle, she let out a sigh and relaxed in his hold, but her mind was still reeling on the reason why he had asked her to come here.

"Don't worry about it." Peter said softly and rested his chin on her shoulder, leaning forward ever so slightly to press a kiss to her cheek. She lifted her hand up and set her palm on his chest, content to know that he still loved her. "I just wanted to talk to you about a professional matter."

Her body tensed in his hold but he let out a sigh and shook his head, "am I in trouble?"

"Have you been a _bad_ girl?" Peter purred and Riley let out an awfully loud snort at his words. "Because if you have, I might have to punish you."

"I could probably use a spanking but I'm on lunch." Riley pointed out with a smug smirk. "I'll gladly bend over for you at home."

"Fuck." He hissed and dropped his forehead down to her shoulder. She knew she was getting to him, frustrating him sexually, but there _was_ a reason she was here and she honestly had no idea what it was. "Seriously, I'm starting to regret asking you to come here."

"What you're really regretting is not asking me to lock the door." She teased and Peter's head popped up, her eyes locked on his. "You asked me here though, for a 'professional matter', so if I'm not actually in trouble, then what's going on?"

Peter hesitated but pulled open the top drawer on his desk, fishing out a file with one hand while keeping the other wrapped around her. Riley watched him as he produced the thin file and set it flat on the surface of his desk. She cocked her head sideways and waited for him to explain it. There was no way this was one of his cases because there was no way he'd be allowing her to see the file if it was.

"I asked some friends of mine from Chicago for a favour." Peter started, Riley hanging on to his every word. "You and I want to adopt and that's a long process _but_ I know people in high places."

"All my friends are in low places." She joked.

"Riley." His voice held a warning tone and she let out a sigh but fell quiet. "There's a young girl in Chicago."

He stopped talking and flipped the front of the folder open, revealing a photograph full of blurry black and white swirls. He shifted it to the side and lifted up the picture he was apparently looking for, this time it was of a young- really young- blonde haired girl who seemed rather happy and excited in the photograph.

When he moved the picture of the blonde aside, Riley furrowed her eyebrows at another picture, of the same blonde, but this time her face was covered in bruises and there were scratches all over her neck and shoulders, at least of what she could see of the girl.

"Her name's Mackenzie Bolton and she's fifteen." Peter said, beginning to explain what the file was all about. "She was raped, that rape resulted in a pregnancy."

"Huh." Riley bit back the words she really wanted to say because it wasn't fair to the girl for her to question why she was able to get pregnant and Riley wasn't. Instead, she merely waited for Peter to tell her bluntly what this girl had to do with anything.

"She's from a Catholic family and she doesn't believe in abortion."

"Right." Riley was still so unsure about what was going on here but Peter didn't seem to be clarifying anything for her. "So then what's she going to do?"

"She's putting her baby up for adoption."

"In Chicago." Riley threw out with a nod, but what did some girl in Chicago have to do with her needing to be in Peter's office at that very moment.

"That baby is ours, if you want it." Peter confessed, Riley's heart skipping at beat at his words.

Oh! Okay, yeah, things were making sense now but Riley wasn't expecting that! If she wanted it, if she wanted this girl's baby…was that…was that really something she was ready for? Without thinking too long and hard about it, without giving herself time to second guess it, she nodded her head yes but continued to stare at Peter, hoping he'd be able to tell her more.

A baby, god Riley wanted a baby so bad, she wanted _this_ baby. Everything about this felt right, it felt like maybe this was what she was supposed to end up with. Her and Peter would be the best parents to this girl's baby, they'd love it unconditionally, give it a safe and loving home.

"We can go to Chicago sometime soon and meet Mackenzie, get to know her, talk to her about the whole situation." Peter carried on and Riley merely stared at him. "I hope that's okay anyways."

"I've never been to Chicago." Riley admitted. "While we're there can we see that big silver bean thing?"

His laugh caught her off guard but he smiled at her question. Chicago was a great city, there were so many things they could see, so many places they could go- maybe they'd even end up at a Cubs game, or a White Sox game. Peter made a mental note to look at the Yankees schedule and see if that was possible at all.

His hand shifted downward and rested against her hip, and she let out a breath, an anxious breath, but a good anxious. This was exciting, this was…this was going to be good for them. After all the time they had been trying to get pregnant, they were finally going to be parents.

"Peter…"

"She's due in about five months-"

"Wait, does she know the gender?" Riley cut him off, but honestly, it didn't matter what the baby was, she'd want it anyways; boy or girl, hell she'd even take it if it was a velociraptor.

"It's a girl."

Her eyes welled up with tears of joy and she pressed her lips together, fighting off the urge to actually cry. This was the best news ever, not that it was a girl, just that they might have a baby coming their way, and soon too.

"You want this too, right?" Riley asked in a whisper and Peter's lips curled into a smile before he nodded his head yes.

"And I want it with you."

Blinking, she forced the tears to fall down her cheeks, Peter immediately wiping them off her skin with his fingers. She leaned into his hold, relaxing against him and shutting her eyes. This felt right, it felt good and Riley hoped that it would come to fruition.

She wanted this little baby girl with every fibre of her being, and she wanted it with Peter.


	33. Chapter 33

"Are you sure you're okay right now, we don't have to go through with this?" Peter murmured against her shoulder as Riley curled up against his chest. She let out a contented sigh and reached back, taking hold of his hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"I want that little girl, so damn bad." Riley said in whisper but that didn't make her voice sound any less confident.

The idea of adopting this baby had been a very real thing to her for quite a while before they had actually made it out to Chicago to meet Mackenzie. Peter hadn't been sure Riley was handling things as well as she presented to him, but yet he hadn't been completely worried about her, he knew how much she really did want this. They had discussed the pros and cons for a long time before he had even ventured into asking his old connections for a favour, especially so soon after they had lost their baby but Riley had easily convinced him that they needed this baby to become part of their family, they needed to give this baby a home with two loving parents.

They could do that, they could _definitely_ do that.

"I know, I'm just making sure you're still good with this …it's not too late to go back on this." Peter pointed out and Riley stiffened in his hold. So what if her own pregnancy hadn't entirely been that great of an experience- in fact it had been a hellish nightmare, but that didn't mean she was going to replace that loss with this baby. She would love this baby as if it was her own.

Sure, it'd be a lot of work but she was ready, she wanted this baby, she had wanted this baby from the second he had told her about it. She even had a name picked out and everything: Samantha Ann, and just because she wasn't going to be biologically theirs, it didn't mean Riley's feelings were going to change. Riley had explained this to Peter but it had been more for her own comfort than anything because Peter wanted this too.

"We're supposed to go and _get_ Sam today, even if you think it's possible that we can still back out, that's not happening." Riley grumbled and stretched her legs out, then proceeded to do the same with her arms. When her arms were in the air, his palm came down and rested on her side, giving her a reassuring squeeze as he kissed her shoulder.

"I'm not against it Ry, I just know how you are, and I want to make sure you're really okay with this. Technically _this_ is our last morning alone, and I'm okay with that, I'm not saying I'm not, but you're prone to anxiety and tomorrow we'll have Sam, it's a lot to deal with in such a short period of time."

"I know." She said solemnly. Preparing for Sam had been hard but she had managed to get the spare bedroom set up for the baby. It felt weird though, weird for a number of reasons. Number one, it wasn't like Riley had the usual allotted time to get used to the idea of becoming a mother, no, she had five months to get the bedroom ready for this baby. Number two, well, number two caused her the most anxiety because they were banking on a teenager handing off her baby to them.

What if Mackenzie changed her mind, what if she decided she wanted to keep the baby and raise it? Riley knew that sometihng like that was possible, she just hoped and prayed that it wouldn't happen, but she also understood that giving up a baby would be a lot harder than anyone could ever imagine and Mackenzie was just a kid.

"You're my primary concern right now." Peter stated, pulling her out of her thoughts. "I want to make sure that _you're_ okay."

"I know." Riley repeated her words softly and rolled onto her back, his hand running over her abdomen as she moved. "I want this though, I want us to have Sam, I want to love her like my own child- no I _will_ love her like my own child because that's exactly what she'll be. She'll be _ours_."

Peter relaxed into the pillows and shifted closer to her, Riley turned her head to face him directly and took her bottom lip in between her teeth, wondering if he wasn't as ready as he seemed to let on. Honestly, she couldn't really blame him, the idea of them all of a sudden having a baby was terrifying, neither one of them was really prepared, but it wasn't going to stop them.

"I just want you to be happy." He murmured, her eyes staring into his, the all too familiar sparkle in her brown orbs making his heart pick up in pace just that tiny bit more than usual. "If this is what's going to make you happy then I'm ready too."

She lifted her hand up and moved her palm to rest against the side of his jaw, "I want this, and I want it with _you_."

Peter gently dropped his head down and rested his forehead against hers. He knew that he was going to do whatever she wanted, especially when it came to having a family. He wanted Sam just as bad, even if the news of her existence had come up unexpectedly. He just wasn't entirely sure that Riley would be able to handle it all. Tomorrow morning they'd wake up and have to be responsible for another life and while Sam was everything that they wanted, it's not like Riley had a _lot_ of experience with babies.

Sure she had hung out with Morgan and Michael but it's not like she had ever looked after Michael for more than an evening or an afternoon, mere hours at a time. Riley had never experienced a baby crying at all hours of the night and being extremely tired during the day while trying to look after it- hell, even Peter had never experienced any of that and he wasn't going to deny that he wasn't a little, tiny bit scared of what they were about to jump into.

In less than twenty-four hours there would be a baby to look after and while Peter had confidence in the two of them, he was also aware that Riley didn't handle stressful situations all that well. What would happen to her if the baby started crying and wouldn't stop, no matter what Riley tried? Would he come home from work to find her in a heap with the baby, both of them just crying? That mental picture alone made him cringe ever so slightly.

On the bright side, Riley was doing really well on her anti-anxiety medication and her panic attacks were virtually non-existent. Having a baby in the house might trigger something in her though, and Peter was scared of that very thing happening.

"It's not just going to be us anymore." Peter pointed out, his voice low and soothing.

"If I'm honest here, I think I've had enough alone time with you." She teased and when he leveled her with an offended look, the smile on her face fell. Okay maybe now wasn't the time for joking, maybe now was the time for reassurances. "I'm seriously just kidding here Peter. I love you, so damn much; nothing's going to change that."

"You're prepared to sacrifice things-"

"Yes!" She cut him off and rolled her eyes. "If it means I have to give up taking you to bed early, or pretty much any time I want, and seducing you while the television is on, then I will gladly give that poor baby girl a home. She deserves someone who will love her too, don't you think?"

"She's the luckiest little girl in the world, as anyone would be with you as their mother." Peter remarked and Riley studied his eyes for a few seconds, wondering where his kind words were coming from. He was always nice to her but that…that had been the most adorable thing he had said to her since she had learned of the existence of Sam.

She realized that he was being genuine with what he had said, and she let out a breath, turning to face him, chest to chest, forehead against forehead. He was it for her, he was the man she loved, the father of any children (adopted or biological) that they'd have, Peter was her end game and wasn't it about time to take their lives to the next level?

"Well, you'll be right by my side, the whole way, you're going to be her father." She smiled at him and Peter leaned forward, pressing a quick kiss against her lips. When he pulled away, her hand moved around to the back of his neck and she ran her fingers over his skin. "What do you say we get up, have a shower, maybe grab something to eat and go get Sam?"

"I think that sounds like a great idea. Maybe we can stop somewhere and get this baby a 'welcome to the family' present?"

"Like all that stuff in the bedroom down the hall isn't enough?" She beamed up at him and Peter took in the sight of her. There wasn't a minute that went by that he wasn't grateful for the woman lying next to him and now he was excited to bring home their darling daughter.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Morgan was happy for Riley, she had finally gotten her baby, even if she had to adopt it from a teenager in Chicago. It didn't matter to her; Riley was really happy now that she was a mother in her own right and the two of them had spent days together with their children.

Michael was a sweet little boy and Morgan couldn't wait until he had a sibling, well, that wasn't entirely true, she _could_ wait, she just didn't want to. She wanted them to be close in age, plus with Riley miscarrying, she didn't want to chance trying for another baby and winding up having the same thing happen to her. She was still young but her biological clock _was_ ticking. And anyways Sonny wasn't getting any younger.

When she had brought up the idea of having a second child, Sonny had been on board pretty much right away. He had seen how devasted Riley had been at the loss of her baby and he wanted nothing more than for them to get on to trying for baby number two while they still could.

Which led her to now, and the fact that she was looking at the pregnancy test in her hand with a smile on her face. Michael was just over a year old, Riley had had Sam for months now, and everything seemed to be going in the right direction. Being pregnant was something Morgan wanted and now she was crazy excited to tell Sonny that them trying had worked.

She was currently at home for the weekend and Sonny had headed into work to meet up with Peter and get a bunch done for a big case coming up. She had gladly let him go, wanting nothing more than to spend the day with Michael, the two of them taking a trip to the drugstore where she had purchased her pregnancy test.

Now she couldn't wait for him to come home- wait, if she couldn't sit still and just let him come to her, then what was stopping her from going there, going to Sonny and telling him at work? God she was brilliant, this was perfect and probably just what he needed. The court case had been bringing him down lately but this…this was the perfect distraction.

As quick as lightning, Morgan gathered up her baby, setting him up in his carrier before taking him out to the car and putting him in the backseat. She had made the trip to the courthouse in record time, but not driving too erratically, after all, she had a baby on board- two if she counted the one inside of her.

Carrying Michael into the courthouse in his carrier, she couldn't help but grin at everyone she passed and when she finally reached Sonny's office, she peered inside only to find it empty. Okay fine, he had gone to work to meet up with Peter so maybe he was with his boss. Morgan carried on down the hallway and heard him well before she saw him, she also heard Peter's voice, and Riley's too.

Popping her head inside Peter's door, she laid her eyes on her husband, who was sitting on the couch in Peter's office next to Peter. Riley and baby Sam were set up in Peter's desk chair, the two girls distracting themselves with all the baby safe things on his desk.

"Hey!" Riley squealed in delight and took Sam's tiny hand in her own, making the baby wave at Morgan from her spot in her arms. "Mo, what are you doing here?"

"I came to join the party." Morgan countered. "I guess my invitation must've gotten lost in the mail."

"Nah Mo, Riley just showed up." Sonny stated.

"I didn't." Riley shook her head. "Peter and I have dinner plans; I came here to pick him up."

"Right, see, she just showed up." Sonny said. "Like you. Mo, you have to know you're always invited here."

"To Peter's office?" Riley piped up. "She's always invited to Peter's office? Seems sketchy but alright."

Sonny shot Riley a glare and waved at Morgan, drawing her into the office. She sat on the end of the couch next to him and hauled Michael's carrier up, setting it on the coffee table in front of the couch. Sonny immediately set to work on freeing his son and held him up on his lap as he smiled at Morgan, who was looking at him, then to Peter and Riley, curious as to what they had been doing before she had shown up.

Riley stood up from the desk chair and hugged Sam against her chest, moving to sit on the coffee table directly in front of Peter, who was quick to take hold of his daughter and smile brightly at her. The baby had been a godsend to the couple and every time Morgan witnessed her best friend with baby Sam, she couldn't help but feel super duper excited for what her future held.

"Hey, you guys want to join us for dinner?" Peter offered, tearing his eyes away from Sam just long enough to look between Sonny and Morgan. He then looked right back at the baby in his hold.

"Uh." Morgan started but looked directly at Sonny and her son. "I mean…maybe…I actually came here to talk to Sonny."

"Oh." Peter's eyes widened at her tone and he leaned back against the back of the couch, Sam clawing at his loosened tie and tugging on it. Riley turned sideways and looked at Morgan, studying her friend and wondering what she needed to talk to Sonny about.

"You couldn't just do that at home?" Riley pressed and Morgan's eyes were instantly glaring at Riley. "Seriously Mo, I'm your best friend, you can't just get things by me."

"Right." Morgan bowed her head. "Well…no, actually it couldn't wait, I was too excited."

"Excited?" Sonny shot her a curious look and Morgan's lips broke out into a giant smile. "Mo-"

"I'm pregnant." She confessed, still smiling.

Sonny's eyes nearly bugged out of his head and Riley broke the silence with an excited squeal, which brought Sam to cries of hysterics. Peter made quick work of trying to soothe the now scared baby while Riley jumped to her feet and lunged at her friend, enveloping her into a warm and tight embrace.

Morgan melted into Riley's hold and carefully stood up so that it wasn't as awkward as it had been to start with. She was thankful that her best friend was here so that she could tell her at the same time that she got to tell Sonny. It was sort of a nice surprise and now there were a few people who could share in her excitement instead of just Sonny.

Sonny rose to his feet and when Riley peeled away from Morgan, she took careful hold of Michael and simply watched as Sonny hugged his wife tight, pressing quick kiss after quick kiss all over her face. Yes, thank god he was excited too because Morgan was anxious about telling him. They hadn't planned on it happening so soon but it had, just like the first time.

They were going to be parents to _two_ beautiful children before they knew it; thank god they had bought the house when they had.

"Mo that's great news." Sonny murmured into her ear and she felt him rock their bodies back and forth in a soothing motion. "I'm so…so happy."

Morgan let out a sigh of relief and when Sonny dropped back down into a sitting position, he pulled her with him, letting her fall into his lap. He didn't let go of her though and instead gripped her tighter, not wanting her to get too far away from him. He loved her so much, he loved every single thing about her, but most importantly, he loved their family, their _growing_ family.

His mom would be so happy that she was getting another grandchild, seeing as she spoiled the one baby that they had already given the older woman. Everything was just so perfect, so wonderful. His heart was full of such joy, such love for the woman in his hold, for the one son she had already given him and the next child they would have soon enough.

Sure, they had a rocky start but since then, they had worked so well together. He felt like she was his soulmate, his other half and Morgan reciprocated those feelings. They made things work between them, they supported each other, and they continued to grow as people together.

"Mo, you're pretty fertile aren't you." Riley teased as she gingerly bounced Michael as she held him against her chest. "First baby was a honeymoon baby, now this one- how long were you even trying, like five minutes?"

Morgan let out a sharp bark of laughter at her friend but shook her head, "a little while, not _that_ long though."

"Super sperm." Riley gave a nod in Sonny's direction. "I bet that's it, right?"

"Seriously, is nothing off limits for you?" Peter shot her a look of disbelief but Riley merely offered up a shrug. "I'm going to tell you this right now and never again, men don't particularly like talking about their _sperm_."

Riley rolled her eyes at him but let out a soft sigh, "noted."

"At least I didn't have to ask him to give me any of his sperm." Morgan threw out, trying to make light of the situation.

"Seriously?" Peter lifted one hand up and waved it around the room.

"That word makes him feel uncomfortable." Sonny added in. "Personally, it's not as scary as the word vasectomy."

"On that note, I think I'm ready to head out for dinner, not that this isn't a riveting conversation." Peter grumbled and rose to his feet. "Congratulations Morgan."

Morgan smiled at him and reached out to take Michael away from Riley, who was whisked towards the desk. Riley gathered up his stuff, nabbed his jacket and headed out of his office with him as he maintained his hold on Sam, leaving the Carisi family in his office in private.

Sonny looked up at her and smiled wide, "pregnant again. I can't believe it doll."

"Believe it Sonny Bunny, we're going to have another baby."

"And I can't wait for that to happen."

Morgan leaned in against him and grinned, quite honestly she was as happy as she had been when she had found out about Michael, and nothing was going to bring her down, at least not today.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Sonny sat next to his slumbering wife on the hospital bed, repeatedly running his hands through Morgan's hair. Morgan was curled up next to Sonny, her face buried into Sonny's side as she slept away the pain and exhaustion that she had dealt with once she had been taken into surgery. There was a beautiful baby girl residing down the hall and Sonny had already been down to look at his and Morgan's amazing daughter.

The surgery itself, a C-Section just like Michael, hadn't taken too much time and Sonny had been there every step of the way. A smile crossed his face as he recalled the way that Morgan had referred to him as 'her baby daddy' more than once but he didn't care, she could call him whatever she wanted, so long as she followed it up with 'I love you'.

Sonny had sent out a text message to the important people first: his mother, Audrey and Charlotte, and finally Riley and Peter. He figured that his mom and Charlotte would arrive first and he hadn't been wrong. Sonny had taken the two older females down the hallway to look through the window to the nursery where he pointed out which one was their newest baby: Eva Audrey Charlotte Carisi.

"She's beautiful." Charlotte whispered, fearful that if she was too loud, she might burst the dreamlike bubble she had been in since receiving the news of her second grandchild being born. "So very, very beautiful."

"She's perfect Sonny." His own mother threw in.

He had left them there to stare and gawk at the little baby Eva before heading right back to Morgan's side, which is precisely where he was now, curled up next to her as she slipped in and out of sleep. She was clearly exhausted, it _had_ been a long and intense process but Eva was here, Eva was brought into the world and she was just fine.

Sonny figured that he would've seen Riley and Peter by now though. He had sent the text close to two hours ago, and assuming they had come directly to the hospital, it wasn't too farfetched of an idea to think that maybe they were nearby, potentially within the walls of the very building. Morgan was barely aware of who he had let know, she was too busy trying to gain a few more minutes of sleep before the real work began.

Turning his head, Sonny peered down at Morgan and just barely caught sight of the peaceful expression on her face, which was still very much buried against his side. She had done wonderfully, she had managed to go through a C-Section without too much trouble and now their baby was just down the hall, nearly perfectly fine aside from being born a couple of weeks early.

When a shuffle in the hall caught Sonny's attention, he turned slightly towards Morgan and vowed that he would keep her safe from anyone that dared to interrupt them who wasn't invited. Morgan was sleeping too soundly, too peacefully, for Sonny to let anyone bother her, but at the sight of Riley poking her head around the corner, he visibly relaxed and continued to thread his fingers through Morgan's hair.

"Thank fuck." Riley stated and quickly stepped into the doorway. "This is the third room that we've looked in and I have seen things- things that I never, ever want to see-"

"Why didn't you just ask for the room number?" Sonny cut her off with a chuckle.

"I did, but I was too excited and I forgot, then I was too embarrassed to admit that I forgot…" Riley explained.

Sonny motioned his head towards Morgan. "She's out."

"She okay?" Riley countered, lowering her voice. She waved behind her and Peter appeared, the two of them wandering into the room, Riley collapsing into the vacant chair next to the bed while Peter wandered around to the opposite side and leaned against the nearby wall. He peered down at the slumbering Morgan before throwing a proud smile in Sonny's direction.

Sonny gently nudged his wife's shoulder and Morgan just barely moved, tipping her head back so that her face wasn't buried against Sonny's side any more. When Morgan's eyes fluttered open, Sonny beamed down at her, fighting off the tears that were currently welling up in his eyes at the sheer thought of how amazing she had been during the birth of their daughter.

"She's fine." Sonny answered and Morgan tensed on the bed next to her. Sonny sucked in a breath and finally tore his hand away from Morgan's hair. "You scared me there for a second Mo, I don't think I was expecting another C-Section."

"Sorry." Morgan mumbled and cautiously craned her neck as she peered around the room, taking in the sight of the two people who had come to see her. She stared at Peter for a few seconds longer than she should've but when she tore her eyes away from him, she let out a soft sigh, then she looked right at Riley. "Hi Ry."

"Hi." She smiled back at her and gingerly lowered herself down so that she was sitting on the edge of her bed next to Sonny as well. "You doing alright there Mo? I hear you had a baby."

Sonny sat up on the bed and slipped his arm underneath Morgan, carefully helping her into a sitting position. Morgan shifted slowly and when a movement hurt, she paused and held her breath, desperate to get herself up so that she could better see the people inside the room with her. When she was finally sitting up, her back against the pillows, she ran her hands over her sides and sucked in a breath.

"Where's the baby?" Riley questioned from her spot in the chair.

"She's down the hall." Sonny replied. "She's fine, she's just in the nursery with the other babies for now."

"Congratulations you two." Peter gave Morgan a smile and she forced one back at him.

Sonny slowly moved so that he was standing next to the bed instead of sitting on it, which left Riley with quite a bit more room. As soon as he was away from Morgan, he looked at his wife's face and took note that she wasn't holding back the tears anymore, no, Morgan was crying.

She didn't know why, there were a few reasons, maybe she was sad that Eva was born via a C-Section, and she had to go through everything with Sonny this time, maybe she was happy that her baby girl was okay, or maybe she was just overwhelmed with _everything_. Hell, if Sonny had been in her position, he'd have been crying since she had gotten out of surgery.

"Mo, did you want me to take them down and show them the baby?" Sonny offered, sensing that maybe Morgan needed a minute to herself. Morgan didn't say a word, nor did she nod or shake her head, she merely stared at Sonny, tears continuing to run down her face.

"I can stay with her if you want." Riley suggested, knowing that Morgan was probably feeling super overemotional because of all the hormones coursing through her.

"No." Morgan said softly and shook her head. "You have to go see her."

"You sure?" Riley countered.

She cocked her head sideways and met her gaze, wondering what exactly she _did_ want at that moment. She had just woken up mere minutes ago and now here she was, bombarded with emotions; _and_ to add on to all of that, the idea of having a baby hadn't even really set in just yet. She felt totally and completely overwhelmed and while she wanted to remain strong and independent, all she wanted to do at that very minute was cry.

"It's okay, go." Morgan mumbled and lifted her hand up and out towards the trio, waving them off.

Sonny waved them forward and ushered them out into the hall so that they could head down the hall to see Eva Audrey Charlotte Carisi.

While Sonny wandered down the hall, leading them towards their newest addition to their family, Riley felt her heart swelling at the thought of Morgan being left all alone in the hospital room without anyone to be right there for her. She wanted to run back to her friend, she did, but she didn't want to overwhelm her, nor did she want to become the primary support in her life now that she had a husband who loved her.

Sonny stood them in front of a large window looking into a room with a few babies tucked away inside. He then motioned for Riley and Peter to move forward and when they did, falling in next to him, their eyes landed on a tiny little baby girl with a sticker reading 'Eva Audrey Charlotte Carisi' taped to the end of the baby-sized bed she resided on.

Sonny lifted his hands up and crossed his arms over his chest, studying _his_ baby girl in detail. She was beautiful, perfect in every way, and watching her sleeping only served to fuel his desire to take her home and have her in his arms whenever he wanted. He wanted to hold her and Michael, and hug them and kiss them. He wanted to protect them and make them laugh and smile.

Sure he was still terrified, he would always be fearful of them not turning out alright, but he knew that he'd never do anything to deliberately hurt his children, no matter what.

"She's so little." Riley piped up, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

"She's pretty average sized for a baby." Sonny countered and Riley pressed the end of her finger against the glass, all of them watching as a nurse appeared inside the room and stood next to Morgan's baby girl.

The nurse was quick to free the little girl of her soft, thin hat, but after checking out her skull, she put it back on, covering the girl's head in an effort to keep her snug and warm. None of them were expecting the nurse to lift her up though and when she did, they all leaned in closer to the window, watching carefully as she cradled the newborn against her chest and wandered out of the room.

"Where's she taking her?" Peter asked, a slight panic to his voice.

"Probably to sell her on the black market." Riley joked but when neither of the other two laughed, she recoiled and locked her eyes on the nurse's back. She disappeared momentarily but when she reappeared, it was no more than ten feet down the hall from where they stood.

None of them moved though, they all watched as the nurse carried the baby into Morgan's room, disappearing from their sight. As calmly as they could, they filed down the hall too but hesitated outside, waiting to be invited.

Riley backed away and let Sonny have a better view and when Morgan, who was trying to sit up, spotted them all, she waved them inside and carried on accepting the baby from the nurse, who had just retrieved her from the nursery.

"We had a chance to check out your baby, she's perfectly healthy." The nurse announced and Morgan hesitantly took her, looking down at her through wide, wonder filled eyes. "I can give you a few minutes if you'd like, you can just press the call button when you need me back."

"Yeah." Morgan breathed the word out and, throwing a smile at everyone in the room, the nurse disappeared out into the hallway.

As soon as the nurse was gone, Riley wandered in with a smile on her face, which only grew at the sight of Morgan holding her baby. She pushed her way through and lowered her butt down, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking down into the baby's eyes, which were just barely open.

"She's really something." Riley whispered, but since the room was so quiet, everyone had heard her clearly.

"She's my little girl." Morgan smiled but quickly looked towards Sonny, who was currently sitting next to Peter in the chairs beside her bed. "She's _our_ little girl."

"And what a little girl she is…" Riley trailed off and shifted closer to Morgan, lifting her hand up and gingerly setting it on the baby's head.

"Now Sam can have a best friend, just like you had with me." Morgan teased and a smile took over her face. She looked at her baby, then up to her best friend. "I really hope that her and Sam have a friendship like ours."

"Maybe they can have a better friendship than ours, honestly, we're pretty weird together." Riley joked.

"Yeah," Morgan let out a snort, carefully lifting her finger up and running it over her baby's head, "no, I think I can agree with you there."

"She really is beautiful." Peter murmured, breaking his silent spell. He paused but moved closer to the bed and looked at the newborn baby in Morgan's hold. "She's…"

"Perfect." Morgan whispered. "She's just so perfect."

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley's stomach had initially dropped at the sight of the little pink plus sign on the stick. It wasn't exactly something she had been expecting to happen, especially not since the not so recent loss of her baby with Peter, but yet it seemed unavoidable at this point in time. The pregnancy test said positive, not that Riley needed it confirmed, she'd been pregnant once before with a child that had never made it into the world, and she could remember very clearly what it felt like.

That didn't mean she wasn't excited for this pregnancy, that wasn't it at all. Ever since Peter had come into her life, since he had married her and adopted a child with her, Riley had felt a lot better about the entire situation of her not being able to get pregnant- except she was apparently (pregnant that is).

It had to stay a secret though, she couldn't tell anyone and go through the same thing she had gone through before, no, she'd wait an acceptable amount of time and pray that this baby made it past the first trimester. She didn't really have a lot of hope, but there was a tiny little ray of it: this time she had managed to get pregnant all on her own, no artificial insemination, no in vitro, just good old-fashioned unprotected sex.

Peter had picked up the pieces after her first miscarriage, and for that she felt a little guilty not even planning to tell _him_ about this pregnancy until she was further along. Hell, he had brought Riley back from the darker places that she had nearly been lost to.

Peter Stone had been the man to help her when she needed it, the man who had loved her when she was falling apart and the man who been able to put her back together again; he _would_ be the best man for her that he could be, and that was all Riley could ask for.

So when Riley hit the twelve week mark of her pregnancy, she knew that the chances of losing this baby had significantly decreased. She had no reason not to tell Peter, plus if he wasn't already starting to maybe suspect something, then he was a lot more oblivious than she believed. She was already gaining weight, though not a lot, and her breasts were getting bigger. She was craving sex all the time, though honestly, she craved it even when she wasn't pregnant, so that wouldn't be a giveaway to Peter.

It didn't matter, she was going to tell him and she was going to hopefully feel a shit-ton of relief once she did. They were going to have a baby, oh god, another baby. They would have two kids, which was one more than Riley ever figured she'd be lucky enough to have.

Could she handle two kids?

If Morgan could do it, then she could too, right? Women had more than one kid all the time, plus it wasn't like she'd be doing it alone, she had Peter, who loved her. No, she could definitely handle two kids, plus wasn't that what grandmothers were for, to help look after their grandchildren. Her mom would love to come and spend some time looking after her kids.

Peter had been an amazing father to Sam in the time that they had her in their lives, there was no doubt that he could handle taking care of a baby of their own on top of that. Peter Stone was a great man, he could handle going to court against the worst of them, raising kids would be like a piece of cake to him; okay, maybe that wasn't totally accurate but it didn't matter because it was happening.

Anxious tears filled her eyes and Riley let out a huff. She didn't need to cry right now, she just needed to hold it together until she told Peter what was going on. Tears were still in her eyes though and she wasn't entirely sure if they were tears of joy or tears of fear. Just because it was less likely that she would miscarry, it didn't mean it wasn't still possible.

Riley pulled her phone out of her pocket and debated whether or not she wanted to call Peter. She could ask him to come home, he'd do it too, he'd rush to her side for whatever reason without question. She had a few minutes of quiet because Sam was asleep in her crib, but did she want to spend those few minutes talking to Peter on the phone because she certainly wasn't going to actually tell him the news until he was right in front of her.

Instead of dialing his number, she sent him a text message, a simple one at that, as vague as could be so that he wouldn't end up suspicious.

' _What are you up to?'_

She kept the phone in her hand and wandered towards Sam's room, standing in the doorway and just looking over at the crib that held her slumbering daughter. She was safe and sound inside her crib and she was loved and wanted inside their home. Sam was a wonderful daughter, and at a few months over a year old, she was growing up so fast.

When her phone vibrated in her hand, Riley jumped and peered down at the screen, reading his reply with a smile.

' _On my way home with supper, I'll be there soon.'_

Okay, she could work with that, at least Peter was on his way home and she wouldn't have to put off telling him much longer. She hoped that he'd be excited, but she wasn't sure if she was completely ready to accept it right now herself. She was scared that this time was going to end a lot like the last time, and that was something she'd never be able to prepare herself for.

"Soon." She murmured and wandered into the little girl's room, suddenly wondering where they would put another baby. Jesus, if it was a boy, it'd be better off in a room of its own, but if it was a girl, then surely they could keep the two of them in the same room for a while, right?

Riley let out a sigh, if she was totally honest with herself, she'd easily give up her office if this baby made it into the world. She didn't really need her own office, she could always set up a desk in the basement for the super rare occurrences when she worked from home, which were few and far between. Oh hell, she could even just borrow Peter's office if that was the case.

Either way though, the books would need to find a new home; thank god she had a basement. The walls down there would look just fine covered in shelves full of books, hell, maybe one day her kids would end up loving reading as much as she did and they'd gradually move the books back upstairs.

The possibilities were endless.

Stepping closer to the crib, Riley wrapped her hands around the top of it and merely looked down at the sleeping girl inside. She'd need a big girl bed sooner rather than later, but hell, they would have time to make decisions, they'd have time to get organized.

Riley leaned over the edge of the crib and carefully lifted Sam up, clutching her against her chest before she wandered towards the hall. Carrying on down the stairs, Riley closed in on the table and by the time she made it there, Sam was partially awake and cooperating a lore more than she had been when she had initially been picked up. Her little body was quickly set into her booster seat before Riley headed towards the fridge.

It was while Riley was in the middle of filling a little plastic sippy cup with watered down fruit juice that she heard the front door opening, which was followed up with Sam letting out a squeal of delight at the arrival of the very person Riley was eagerly waiting. Ignoring the bustle at the front door momentarily, Riley continued pouring out the juice and when she wandered over to set it in front of Sam at the table, Peter appeared in the kitchen carrying a pizza box.

"Hey." Riley beamed at him, her laughter from Sam's reaction echoed in the kitchen as Peter closed in on her and kissed her quickly on the lips.

His eyes met Riley's and she smiled at him before slowly sitting down at the table in the chair next to Sam, both of them waiting for him to join them.

"How are my girls?" Peter asked and he carefully set the pizza down on the surface of the table, then he went to work on peeling off his jacket. He disappeared back towards the front door and when he reappeared in the kitchen he already had the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows and his tie loosened from around his neck.

"We're good." Riley answered with a shrug. "Sam just woke up from a nap."

"Da!" Sam cooed and Riley reached over, running her hand along the girl's head.

"Hi Sammy." Peter responded, still grinning. "Hello my little baby girl."

Riley felt her heart swelling at his words and she sucked in a breath, anxious for what she had to tell him now that he was finally home. She was nervous about how he'd react and honestly, it's not like she could blame him. This wasn't exactly planned, but then again, they hadn't been careful on purpose either. If Peter hadn't wanted a baby, surely he would've said something to her before now, right?

Ugh, it didn't help though, the logic in her thoughts wasn't making this any easier. Her mouth felt dry and her heart was pounding in her chest, but with one smile from Peter, she knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to have a baby with him, she wanted that baby to be a perfect combination of her and him, able to watch that baby grow up to be just like them in some form.

"Peter…" Riley breathed his name out and waited patiently as Peter straightened up and looked at her, wondering what she wanted from him. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Okay." He smiled at her and took a seat at the table on the other side of Sam, leaning his elbow on the surface so that he could see Riley in his line of sight. "Good something?"

"Uh yes." She nodded her head and ran her hand across her abdomen. "So I probably should've told you this a little while ago but I just wanted to make sure…well I was scared."

"Ry, what's going on?" He narrowed his eyes in on her and she sucked in a nervous breath. Holding it for a few seconds, she tried to figure out how she wanted to break the news to him, but when she let the breath out, the words came with it.

"I'm pregnant."

His eyes widened at her admission but he tipped his head sideways, not entirely sure how it was possible. They hadn't had any luck conceiving naturally before and he wasn't aware of any more attempts at in vitro, so what was different this time?

"How?" He blurted out, not that he wasn't happy, he was just confused.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I just am."

"You just _are_? As in, we just got lucky?" Peter pressed and Sam smacked her hands on the surface of her highchair tray. He peeled his attention away from Riley and offered his daughter his hand, which she grabbed hold of eagerly and began squeezing and fiddling with his fingers. "Really?"

"Yeah." Riley nodded her head.

"Great." He countered. "Great, now what?"

Riley shrugged her shoulders, "uh, well, we prepare for a baby."

"What if the same thing happens this time that happened last time?" Peter quipped.

Right, yeah, okay, Peter wasn't aware of the whole truth, no, as far as he was aware, she was _just_ pregnant, freshly pregnant, but that wasn't even close to what was going on here.

"Circling back to the part where I should've mentioned this to you earlier- I'm like twelve weeks pregnant, as in, second trimester." Riley confessed and Peter gaped at her. Well huh, Peter Stone was rarely speechless but that had certainly done it. "The chances of miscarriage significantly decrease in the second trimester, so I feel pretty good about it this time."

"Riley…" Peter managed to get her name out but that was it, he was just silently staring at her.

"Please don't be mad, I just didn't want to get our hopes up but now…I don't know, I just feel better about this pregnancy."

"You're telling me you kept this from me for-"

"Yes."

"You don't even _look_ pregnant."

"I am, very much so." She nodded and reached her hand out, offering it to Peter who took hold of it with the hand that wasn't occupied by Sam. "We're going to have a baby."

"Holy shit." Peter stared at her and when she squeezed his hand, he let out a low laugh, shaking his head in the process. "Okay."

She scrunched up her nose at him, "okay?"

"Okay." He repeated. "We're having a baby."

"Well yeah, but I have to do all the work." Riley snorted.

"God, we're really having a baby."

"Yeah, you, me, two kids. We're going to be a real nice family." Riley added and Peter slowly rose to his full height before stepping around Sam's highchair, even going as far as to pull his hand out of her grasp. She busied herself with slapping her palms on the tray once again but it didn't matter, he was too happy, too excited.

"I love you so much." He murmured. "You, a baby and Sam, that sounds perfect."

"I love you too." Riley smiled back at him.

She knew that it would take a while until she felt relaxed enough to truly enjoy her pregnancy, chances of bad things happening were still very prominent in her mind, but this was good. They were going to have a baby of their very own, a baby sibling for Sam, another person to add to their family.

No matter what it held, Riley and Peter were excited for the future.

_**XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX** _

Riley rolled over and let out a loud yawn, catching the bright moon through the window still high in the sky. Finding an empty bed surrounding her, she shut her eyes and sighed, knowing exactly where to find the missing Peter Stone. Pausing for a second before she made any move to get up and search him out, she relaxed into the bed and let out a soft sigh of contentment, loving her life and how it had turned out.

Smiling to herself, she shoved the covers down and moved her legs to the edge of the bed, not even bothering to find pajama bottoms to cover up her black underwear, she was way too tired, and still somewhat sore, to care about covering up. It's not like anyone besides Peter would see her anyway.

Her arms extended into the air as she stretched her shoulders out, letting a wince escape her throat in the process as she strained her abdominal muscles, which were achy still, days after bringing baby Wren Lee Stone into the world.

Her hands came to rest against her sides, pressing into her skin in a lame attempt to alleviate her aching muscles. She moved forward, tucking her elbows closer to her body as she crossed over the threshold of the bedroom door and carefully made her way down the hall, as quietly as she could. Glancing back at the half open door to Sam's room, she couldn't help but smile, knowing she was sound asleep, free of monsters hiding in her room.

Her lips twitched upwards as she closed in on Wren's room, the lamp near her crib giving off a soft glow, enough for Riley to see Peter clearly but not enough to bother the sleeping baby in the crib next to him.

She knew he was well aware she was behind him but that didn't stop him from jerking as she wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing her forehead against the spot between his shoulder blades. His left hand moved to rest against her arm, pressed against his torso, while his right hand remained wrapped around the top part of the tiny little girl's crib.

"First night back at home and I don't even get to sleep next to you." She murmured tiredly, the aches in her body being pushed to the back of her mind now as she just basked in the quiet, neither one of her children making any noise at all.

"I was just checking on her."

"You should be checking on me." Riley teased and pulled away from him, quickly stepping around him and leaning against his side. His arm roamed up her back and he rested his hand on the back of her neck, his eyes never leaving the sleeping baby.

"You're fine." He breathed back and finally looked at her. "Aren't you?"

"Well I'm feeling kind of neglected. If I knew having another baby int his house would take all of your attention away from me, I never would have agreed to it." She grinned at him but he just looked at her, somewhat appalled by her implication, even if she was just teasing. She had been the one who had wanted kids so deeply, and the fact that Wren was all theirs had been a moment to celebrate.

"You want my attention?"

"Hey I didn't mean you can't just stand here and stare at her, but Peter, it's the middle of the night, she's asleep, and I could use some company in bed."

"What time is it?"

"Two…ish."

"What?"

"See, you've been in here a long time, should I be worried about you?"

He drummed his fingers against the crib but moved his hand away from it, turning to face Riley head on now. She reached up and grabbed hold of the wrist of the hand that was on her neck, gingerly pulling it down and holding it between them.

"She looks like you Ry."

Riley cocked her head to the side and smiled. "No, she looks like a baby, exactly the same as every other baby."

"How can you say that?" His tone offended, as if Riley dare to lump his baby girl into the same category as other infants.

"Babies all sort of look the same to me." She shrugged and glanced down at tiny baby Wren, curled up in her crib. "They're all sort of weird looking little aliens to start with, sure some have hair or different coloured eyes, but they all look like little wrinkly people."

"That may be but she's you, in so many ways."

"She's not even a week old, she looks like a baby."

"She's got your eyes."

Riley let out a sigh but looked down into the crib, studying the face of her newborn baby girl. Maybe babies all looked similar to her but she could easily see why Peter was so mesmerized, the tiny little girl was perfect; ten fingers, ten toes, everything where it should be, nothing missing, no extra limbs, and the most beautiful expression of peace on her face as she slept.

"I already love her so much." Riley breathed out. She had been thinking a lot about it, ever since she found out she was pregnant, and then when she found out they were in fact having a girl, she just wanted it even more. Nothing could've topped the feelings she had when they had brought Samantha home, but having Wren was right up there.

"I know, me too."

"I want her to be all she can be. She'll be an amazing woman one day."

"Amazing women seem to run in the family." Peter smiled at her and Riley stepped closer to him. "I'm sure if she sets her mind to it, she'll be able to do anything."

"Just like her mom?"

"Just like her mom."

"So, are you going to stand here all night and watch her sleep then?" Riley asked, taking her bottom lip in between her teeth, looking up at him with a coy expression.

"I'm sure I could manage to tear myself away from her."

"Then you're going to come to bed with me?"

"I think so."

"Thank god." She let out a sigh of relief and laced her fingers with his, gently tugging on his arm as she made a move towards the door.

He barely budged though, holding her back as he took one last look at Wren, sleeping peacefully in her crib. It would never cease to amaze him how lucky he was to have found a woman like Riley. She had given him so much; a reason to keep going when things got tough, a sense of belonging, and most importantly, two amazing children.

"Did you do a thorough monster check tonight?" Peter asked, finally giving in and following Riley as she wandered out of the room. "Sam was worried that your mom didn't do a very good job while she was watching her."

"Monster free." She scoffed, amused by the fact that her and Peter were having a legitimate conversation about non-existent bed dwelling monsters.

"Do you think Wren will be afraid of monsters?"

"God I hope not. I would love to be able to sleep through the night without being beckoned to look under her bed."

"Were _you_ ever afraid of monsters?" Peter questioned and wandered over to Sam's closed door, leaning against the wall just off to the side. Riley was well aware of what he was doing, she could tell by the look on his face that he was focusing, trying to listen in to see if he could hear Sam struggling to sleep. Lately there were nights when the poor little girl had a sort of vicious nightmare, but there were other nights when she slept right through.

"I was never afraid of much, not until I met you." She shot back and fixed him with a smirk. "You were probably the scariest thing of them all."

"I bet." He replied with a roll of his eyes. He wasn't scary, not in the slightest, but he had been a witness to her panic attack the very first night she had spent with him. Boy had that been a shock to him, but it hadn't scared him away.

Riley rolled her eyes at him and pranced across the hall, walking into her room before dropping her butt onto the edge of the bed. She watched as he wandered into the room too, stripping off the shirt he had worn all day before moving his hands down to make short work of his belt.

"I'm so glad we have Wren now." She announced and looked up at him, an almost sad look consuming her features. It had been a long and winding road but she _had_ gotten pregnant, she had made it through the entire pregnancy and now they had Wren to prove it. Tough didn't even begin to describe it.

"She's pretty amazing."

"Just like Sam."

Riley leaned back, her shoulders connecting with the bed before she wiggled her way up towards the pillows, burying her face into the soft material of the pillowcases. Less than a minute later, Peter climbed in next to her, lying in front of her as he met her gaze, their faces mere inches apart.

"I love you." He whispered.

"Enough to rub my back, it's still sort of painful." She tossed back with a sigh.

"What, why?" His expression immediately turned to one of worry, clearly concerned by what she had just said.

"Nothing major, just the usual achiness associated with giving birth, at least I assume it's normal achiness seeing as I've never actually given birth before."

"You mean it still hurts? Really?"

"Yeah still."

Peter motioned for her to turn around and Riley complied, rolling over so that her back was to him. She tensed at his touch, not expecting him to slip his arm around her and pull her against him, his hand resting on her ribs. She held her hand in the air away from her body while he got comfortable behind her before setting her hand on top of his, slipping her fingers in the spaces between his.

She relaxed into the sheets and let out a soft sigh, her eyes just barely staying open as he worked away at running his other hand over her back, making soft soothing circles on her skin.

"Better?" He asked, pressing his lips to the side of her neck.

"Mmm, very much so."

It wasn't too much longer before Riley's breathing evened out and her body relaxed even more. Holding on to her, Peter just took a few minutes to take it all in. Still fighting the urge to just watch Wren in her crib, he shut his eyes and waited for the peacefulness of sleep to take over him.


End file.
